Demon's Candelabrum
by Taka
Summary: Ranma starts having terrible visions of a destroyed world, where the sky is blood red, the Sun is white, and Earth is in ruin. To make matters worse, strange lines are spreading over his body and he's unconsciously acting meaner. MultiCrossover
1. Prologue: Nightmares

He couldn't see anything, but the moment he smelled the fish sausages wrapped tightly around his  
body, and could hear his own breathing echoing in his ears, he knew where he was. The yellow eyes  
were all around him, circling around him, each trying to steal a glance at the delicious meal before them.

They didn't attack though, like they always had before. Instead, they circled him, mewing and growling.

'This isn't how it happened,' Ranma thought, 'Why aren't they attacking? They should be all over me!  
What's going on?'

He whimpered, huddling into a ball and shutting his eyes, waiting. He waited for the hisses, the teeth,  
and the claws to rip through his skin. 'Any second now,' he thought, 'they're going to jump me.'

But they didn't. They just circled him, growling low, sniffing eagerly. Still, nothing happened, but Ranma  
remained curled, eyes shut, knowing that once he opened them, they would attack.

"Open your eyes, child," a monotonous voice commanded.

Ranma stopped all motion, holding his breath. This never happened before. What the hell was going on?

"Open your eyes, Child!" the voice snapped, and he felt breath against his face. Hesitantly, Ranma  
opened his eyes, and immediately gazed into the eyes of a cat three times as big as the others. His body  
convulsed in fear. 'So this is why they aren't attacking! They're letting this big one have me!'

"Child, do you not realize that the cats have already massacred your body? I have no desire to attack  
you."

His body stung all over. When had he been attacked? A second ago he had been covered in the fish  
sausage, and now he was completely cut up. He shuddered in pain. The cuts were everywhere; he could  
feel them on his body, forever marking it, and his mind.

"How-" he croaked.

The large cat tilted its head.

"I am no ordinary cat, Child." The voice didn't come from the animal's mouth, but it was still clear that  
the beast was the one talking."I am a demon. A very powerful demon . . . I sensed your soul's struggle to  
survive and . . . I . . . am . . . impressed."

"What . . . what d-does that m-mean?" Ranma asked, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"I plan to take your soul to hell," the large feline replied, and spared a glance at the cats surrounding the  
two, its feline mouth baring its fangs, grinning in the dark.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½, if I did... would I be writing this? Maybe.

"I've always had nightmares of that day . . . that pit. Nightmares on and off throughout the year, wakin'  
up sweatin' . . . my heart beatin' like crazy. I was always so happy when I woke up, knowin' the dream  
was only that . . . a dream . . . but for once . . . I wish I hadn't woken up."  
- Ranma Saotome

Demons Candelabrum  
A Ranma ½ Crossover  
By Hawk

AN: Thanks to Fallacy, and Corwin once again for prereading this. Without them, this fic would be . . .  
Not as good, grammatically, visually . . . mathematically . . . For those of you curious about what's gonna  
be the Crossover, I'm not letting it out just right now, you'll find out along the way. This story takes place  
after the failed wedding.

Updated: 4/23/11

**Prologue - Nightmares**

* * *

"I-I d-don't wanna!" Ranma shouted and started to cry. His small, ten year old body shook violently. "W-  
why? Pl-please! I-I don't wa-wanna g-g-go!" His tears grew stronger, and snot dripped from his nose.

The demon cat leaned forward and gently licked the tears from Ranma's face. If Ranma could read the  
demon's catlike expression, he would have realized it was relishing the salty taste.

The demon began to purr.

"Your anguish is delicious," it murmured, still purring. The demon cat began circling him. "Mmm . . .  
instead of taking your soul, I'll save it, and in the process, your life. How does that sound?"

Ranma swallowed the bile in his throat, and said nothing. He sniffled and waited for the demon to  
continue.

"Look at me, Child."

Slowly, Ranma looked up at the cat, seeing it clearly for the first time. It was all black; that was why  
Ranma could see only its red eyes and the three half-circles that marked its forehead.

"Do you want to live, Child?"

"Y-yes. . ." Ranma mumbled, nodding his head cautiously.

"Then stretch out your left arm for me," the demon cat ordered.

Ranma hesitated, cradling his arm against his chest protectively.

"Stretch out your left arm!" the cat hissed, eyes narrowing in the shadows.

Instinctively, and out of fear, Ranma's arm outstretched seemingly on its own. He cringed and twitched,  
closing his eyes. Tears poured down his face and he trembled, afraid of what the cat would do.

The demon began coughing violently, producing a disgusting and throaty sound.

Ranma's eyes cracked and he looked at the cat as it coughed over his arm. Was it hacking up a hairball  
on him? Something was slowly slipping out of the feline's mouth - a small worm-like creature, pale  
colored like a bone. He flinched as it dropped onto his arm, cold and soggy against his skin.

And then, there was pain. It was worse than the cats tearing into his flesh. He screamed, eyes wide, as  
the worm dug its way into his arm, through his flesh. His body seized in shock, the life in his blue eyes  
dimming slightly as he stared blankly through his unruly, black hair. When his voice all but died out, he  
was left with a pitiful whisper.

The cat demon began to speak again. "Because I am not takin-"

His body tensed, and then he sat up, screaming and clutching his left arm, a cold sweat pouring down his  
forehead.

A wooden sign smacked into his head, halting his screaming.

'Shut up, boy! Some of us are trying to sleep!' the sign read.

"Argh! Stupid, Oyaji! What ya do that for!" Ranma exclaimed, rubbing the side of his head.

'I need my beauty sleep!' was written on the back of the sign.

Ranma snorted. "All the beauty sleep in the world couldn't help you, Pop."

The large panda was already asleep, again.

Ranma shook his head. "Man, what a weird dream."

He shuddered and looked at his left arm, holding it with his right. Rubbing his eyes, he pushed himself  
out of his futon and slowly trudged downstairs.

He walked into the kitchen, intending to get a glass of water, but stopped when he noticed Kasumi  
already cooking breakfast. Blinking, Ranma tilted his head and observed Kasumi in silence as she went  
about her morning routine.

'Like her own personal kata, a breakfast kata,' Ranma thought, slightly amused by the idea.

Ranma's eyes narrowed, and began to glow without him realizing it. Darkness tainted the space around  
his body, and spread outward across the room, creeping over the floors, as if to reach out and entangle  
Kasumi.

Kasumi turned around.

"Oh!" She jumped, placing a hand over her heart. "Ranma, you startled me!" she chided, but was smiling  
none the less. Her smile vanished when she noticed Ranma's glowing eyes, and the darkness swelling  
around him.

Ranma said nothing, instead choosing to just stare a Kasumi. There was something different about her  
this morning that he had never noticed before. A small white aura surrounding her body, which slowly  
grew larger as the seconds passed. Soon enough it around her was enormous, forcing him to squint his  
eyes at its overwhelming brilliance.

'Im-impossible! This is insane! Kasumi can't be THIS powerful! No one human can be this powerful!'  
Ranma thought, starting to feel slightly besieged. His knees buckled. 'So pure!'

Kasumi stood still, watching Ranma closely. She knew he could see the aura she was projecting, but  
doubted he knew of his own. It wasn't as large as hers, but the dark red aura encasing his body was still  
very powerful.

The two auras began pressing against each other roughly, wrestling for supremacy. They grew wilder in  
their fight against one another, so much so that the pots, pans and anything else not nailed down began  
to tremble.

'This is intense,' Ranma thought, heart beating wildly in his chest. He opened his mouth intending to say something.

Akane walked into the kitchen, right into Ranma's invisible, raging aura and blinked. "Whoa! It's hot in  
here!" she exclaimed and fanned the air around her.

Neither Ranma nor Kasumi paid her any heed, focusing instead only upon one another.

She frowned, and waved a hand in front of Ranma's face, catching his attention. "Hey, you wanna go jog  
with me?" she asked. 'Why's he staring at her like that?'

"Oh, uh, yeah sure, yeah, let's go," Ranma replied, scratching the back of his head. He turned around  
and followed Akane out of the kitchen, but not before stealing another glance at Kasumi.

The brown haired girl was back at the stove, no aura around her, acting as if nothing had interrupted her  
morning breakfast kata.

* * *

Next Time: **Chapter 1 - Visions of the End**  
Ranma's starting to see things that other people aren't. A world in ruin, a sky of blood red, and a sun of  
pure white. But what does it all mean?

AN: Updated 4/23/11

Hope this was enjoyable, and I hope I can get the next chapter done as fast as I wrote up this one.


	2. Chapter 1: Visions of the Future

Dinner that night was much more somber than usual. No fiancée or rival barged in without warning. No  
one new arrived, either with a dojo challenge or kidnapping plot. All things said, only two people under  
the Tendo roof considered the night to not be ordinary.

Ranma eyed Kasumi, studying her critically. Since his return from school, he had done nothing but spy  
on the eldest Tendo girl. So far, his efforts to find the white aura had proven fruitless.

There was no sign; no evidence that what he had seen and felt that morning had actually been there.  
Kasumi was, as far as he could tell, just a normal human girl.

'Well, somewhat normal,' Ranma thought, popping a slice of fried squid into his mouth, keeping his eyes  
on Kasumi. 'She's a little too calm when she's under pressure.'

His mouth became a thin line, wondering why that was. Now that he thought about it, he had never  
seen Kasumi get scared. Worried yes, but scared, never. 'I wonder what she sounds like when she  
screams. . .' Ranma thought, grinning chillingly.

Kasumi's eyes met his, smiling cordially in return. There was something different about this smile,  
though. It was a smile that seemed to say, 'I know exactly what you're thinking, Ranma.' And she was  
almost grinning about it! The look wasn't cocky, but still one that boasted, 'Just try it.'

His grin dropped and he ducked his head, blushing. Where had that dark thought come from and was  
that really what Kasumi's smile was implying?

If Ranma had been paying more attention to his surroundings, instead of his fiancée's older sister, he  
might have noticed the massive red aura surrounding Akane. Nor did he realize that his father had  
swiped all of his dinner, and that Soun and Nabiki were both stealing confused glances between Kasumi  
and him.

Unfortunately, he was not. Akane's fist slammed into the back of his head, which came as a complete  
surprise, easily knocking him unconscious.

Kasumi frowned at her sister's action, and turned her attention to Ranma. She bit her bottom lip upon  
discovering the red aura was nowhere to be seen.

Sighing wearily, Kasumi placed a hand delicately on her cheek. "Oh my . . ." she said.

* * *

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own Ranma ½ and sadly, I don't think I ever will, unless I get REALLY rich. . .  
If only.

"At first I thought he was just being his usual jerk self, insulting and fighting everyone, you know? Trying  
to make everyone look stupid by seeing things we couldn't, the typical Ranma. I had no clue what his  
problem was. Nobody did, now that I think of it. He should've told us, we might've been able to  
help him, the idiot."  
- Akane Tendo

Demons Candelabrum  
A Ranma ½ Crossover  
By Hawk

AN: Thanks to Fallacy, and Corwin once again for prereading this. Without them, this fic would be . . .  
Not as good, grammatically, visually . . . mathematically . . . For those of you curious about what's gonna  
be the Crossover, I'm not letting it out just right now, you'll find out along the way. This story takes place  
after the failed wedding. Please review and let me know what you think!

Update: 4/23/11

**Chapter 1 - Visions of the Future**

* * *

Ranma sat alone in a dark hole that he knew all too well. Though he wasn't tied up in fish sausages or  
surrounded by cats, he recognized it easily enough. Was he having the same nightmare as before?

From what he could tell, he wasn't a child, but his actual teenager self. He stood up, peering up at the  
opening. It would lead him out of the hole and into the dojo that his father had chosen for this 'special'  
exercise. His legs tensed and he leapt out with relative ease.

'What's goin' on?' Ranma thought, looking around the empty dojo for his father. 'This is all WAY too real  
for me.' He glanced at his left arm, noticing a small cut and looked back at the hole, wondering if he'd  
cut it on the edge of the hole.

Walking out of the dojo, Ranma was stunned by the pure white world. Where there should have been  
ground, dirt, plants, anything, there was nothing but empty space, as if someone had taken an eraser to  
the surroundings. "What the hell is goin' on?" he asked aloud, shaking his head and rubbed his eyes, but  
everything remained white, and empty.

He moved back into the dojo, scratching at the cut on his arm. His feet stopped when he saw it, blue  
eyes widening at the sight. A lone box of fish sausages sat next to the hole, and he could hear the cats  
below. He could hear himself.

"No!" he shouted and jumped into the hole. When he landed, he did so sloppily, twisting his ankle and  
dropping himself to his side.

'Smooth, very smooth,' he thought anxiously as he pushed himself to his hands and knees. He looked  
around the hole and saw nothing, only the same darkness as before.

His fingers wouldn't leave the cut on his arm, picking at itch painfully. As the itch grew stronger, so did  
Ranma's scratching, the cut peeling open and the skin around it turning red from the abuse. He hissed in  
pain, feeling blood run over his finger tips.

His eyesight went blurry, and he scanned his arm, finding, to his amazement and horror, that he had  
scratched off most of the skin. Gritting his teeth, Ranma grabbed it, holding it tight, hoping to slow down  
the flow of blood as well as get control of his fingers. His eyes widened as he saw and felt something  
start to push on his skin from the inside.

The open flesh stretched outward, like a bubble ready to burst, and Ranma realized that something was  
trying to escape.

'No, no, no, no!' he thought frantically, as he attempted to push the bulging skin back down. 'I can't  
stop it! Why? Why can't I stop it?'

The knob in his arm erupted, blood spraying across his horrified face. Though he could taste his own  
blood in his mouth, he felt only a numbing pain in his arm. Something resembling a large, albino  
worm was slowly sliding its head out. Its small mouth opened, hissing at him, showing rows of sharp  
teeth.

Ranma dropped to his knees, clutching his arm and screaming wildly. His voice echoed in the hole,  
rattling the ground like an earthquake. Somehow, he could see the dojo and world outside of the hole  
shaking as well, sizeable cracks appearing in the clean white sky.

He sat up, grabbing his left arm, cradling it against his heavily-heaving chest. Sweat poured down his  
face, as he let out a strangle whimper. Taking a deep, calming breath, Ranma blinked away his foggy  
vision and immediately looked over his arm.

'Im-impossible! N-no way!' There was a blue line, as wide as his middle and pointer fingers put together,  
running down the inside of his left arm. It seemed to glow in the dark of the night, pulsing like it had its  
own heartbeat. 'No, no, no, nonono . . .!'

Glancing over, Ranma exhaled a very small sigh of relief at the sight of his father, snoring heavily.  
Cautiously, he poked the blue line, which seemed to glow brighter at his touch. It felt just like skin, only  
a lot warmer than normal.

He removed his finger and it started to dim, becoming a cool, dark blue. Rolling over, Ranma grabbed his  
long-sleeve red Chinese shirt, and pulled it on. He felt a strange sense of relief when he couldn't see the  
blue line. Still, he could feel its presence and steady heart-like pulse.

Ranma lay back down, staring at the ceiling, resting his left arm as far away from his body as he could.  
'What the hell is goin' on . . .? Maybe this is all still a dream . . .' He lightly shook his head, drowsily laying  
his head on his pillow again. 'Please let this be a dream . . .'

He lay awake for what felt like an hour before his eyes closed and sighed softy, falling into a deep sleep.

The door to the Saotome's room slid open, and Kasumi stood silently on the other side. She watched  
Ranma sleep for a moment before sliding the door closed.

* * *

The next morning, Ranma took off for school without breakfast and alone. It was a hot day, hotter than  
usual for that time of year, which made the sight of Ranma wearing a long-sleeve shirt a little strange to  
every passerby's. Most people shrugged it off; it was Ranma Saotome, after all. The kid's life never made  
sense, why should he choice in clothing?

What wasn't so odd for the residents of Nerima was the bike heading straight for said martial artists  
head.

"Nihao, Ranma!" Shampoo blinked. "Aiyah! How you catch Shampoo's bike?"

Ranma stood, his left arm outstretched, having grabbed the front wheel of Shampoo's bike. He held it,  
and her, in the air, the wheel inches from his head. Slowly, Ranma looked up at the purple-haired  
amazon.

"Ranma take Shampoo on date, yes?" Shampoo asked, smiling beautifully, chest bouncing along with  
her delight.

Ranma's hand tightened around the wheel, crushing it, before casually tossing the bike, Shampoo with  
it, into the nearby canal. He blinked hard, shaking his head, and walked off, cradling his left arm against  
his chest.

"Mew?"

* * *

When lunch rolled around, Ranma immediately climbed out the classroom window. He had noticed  
Akane glaring at him most of the day and decided he wanted to get a safe distance away before Mt.  
Akane Tendo erupted. Running would save him a sure headache (he had no doubt), at least for the time  
being.

Of course, Ranma's avoidance of her only served to make Akane angrier. Said fiancée stormed out of the  
school, and straight to where Ranma was trying to relax, resting anxiously against the trunk of a tree. He  
was studying his left hand, curling and bending his fingers, then made a fist. His eyes stared at it as  
though he were a child, discovering his hand for the first time.

"Ran . . . Ma . . ." Akane growled, as she stepped up to him. She had been really annoyed to find out that  
Ranma had left for school without her.

"What!" Ranma snapped.

Akane stepped back, surprised by the anger in Ranma's voice. "Um. . ." She was suddenly at a loss for  
words, her own fury subdued.

"What, Akane! What do you want, huh?"

Ranma's rebuke returned strength to Akane's fire and she held her ground. "Why'd you leave without  
me, baka?"

Ranma stood up, looming over Akane, and forcing her to take another step back. "I don't have to go  
anywhere with you, Akane . . .," Ranma ground out. "I'm NOT some DOG that has to follow you around  
everywhere! I wanted some alone time and I left to get some, alright?"

Akane swallowed and bowed her head. "Y . . . you're right, Ranma, I'm sorry."

Ranma rubbed his temples, nursing a growing headache. "It's ok, Akane. I'm sorry too, didn't mean ta  
blow up at you like that," he said with a lopsided grin. "I'm just goin' through some stuff, right now,  
s'all."

"O-oh . . . um . . . you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

Ranma looked at his left arm, then at Akane. He shook his head. "Nah, I'm good, but thanks anyway. I'll  
deal with it." He gave her a cocky grin. "Nothin' I can't handle, you know that."

"Feh, jerk," she muttered, blushing slightly.

Ranma's grin faded as he watched Kuno walk toward them. Subconsciously, he clutched at his left arm,  
feeling the blue mark under his thumb throb and grow hot against his skin.

'Not . . . not now!' he thought, suddenly light headed.

"Saotome, you cur! As always, you follow me to mine establishment of higher learning! And if that  
weren't enough, you do nothing but pester and antagonize mine my noble self and the fiery tiger Akane  
Tendo while amongst these sacred halls!" Kuno proclaimed, pointing his bokken at his rival.

Ranma's eyebrow twitched. "That's because we go to the same school, you moron!"

"Stand aside, fair Akane Tendo! Today is the day that the fiend dies!"

"Kuno . . ." Akane growled, but stopped when a hand landed on her shoulder. She shivered, her nerves  
suddenly rattled.

Ranma gently pushed Akane aside with his hand and stepped up to Kuno. "Don't worry, 'Kane, I got  
this." Ranma smirked. "I think it's about time someone pounded it into Kuno's head just how  
outmatched he is."

Kuno smirked back. "You stand no chance against my newest attack, Saotome!" He raised his bokken  
over his head, keeping his eyes trained on Ranma.

Ranma slid into a defensive stance, and waited. And waited some more. After a dozen more seconds of  
waiting, he relaxed and regarded Kuno curiously. "Well?"

". . ."

"You forgot it, didn't ya?"

". . ." Kuno frowned. "That matters not! I don't need it to defeat you!" He swiped down with his wooden  
sword.

Ranma, who wasn't at all ready for the sudden attack, did the only thing he could think of, and brought  
his arm up to block. The wood sword hit his forearm, snapping in half like a twig. Blinking, Ranma took in  
his unscathed limb and grinned. "Heh, that the best you got, Kuno?"

A couple girls walked past, looked at Kuno's shattered bokken, and giggled at the now smaller size.

Kuno looked forlornly at the small piece of wood in his hands. "Ow . . . my pride . . ."

Ranma crossed his arms over his chest, grinning cockily. "Got anything else you wanna try?"

Kuno shook his head, now clearly annoyed, and pointed the remainder of his bokken at Ranma. "Clearly  
an act of wicked sorcery, you demon sent by the Devil himself! If it takes me to the end of my days, I  
shall bring forth the righteous fury of the Gods down upon your depraved and wretched head, and a  
battle, the likes of which bards and writers will exalt my glorious victory of your evil-!"

Ranma's eyes flashed and his left arm snapped to life, grabbing Kuno around the neck, lifting him off the  
ground in a mere second. Their eyes met, Kuno's widening in absolute fear, seeing something in Ranma's  
that he had never seen before.

"Evil . . . and what if I am?" Ranma growled, tightening his grip around Kuno's neck, choking the older  
boy.

"Ranma!" Akane gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

His eyes turned to Akane, taking in her scared look. They blinked in surprise, and he felt his grip on  
Kuno's throat loosen. He looked back at Kuno, noticing for the first time that the older boy was clawing  
at his hand, trying to pry it off.

'What . . . what am I doing?' he thought, dropping Kuno, who fell to his knees, gasping for air.

Looking around, Ranma discovered that nearly everyone in the schoolyard had been watching with wide  
eyes. His left arm throbbed harder, and he subconsciously cradled it against his chest. He took two steps  
back before turning and walking out of the schoolyard.

When Akane finally turned to follow Ranma, he was already gone. Realizing she wouldn't find him easily,  
she turned and crouched next to Kuno to see if he was ok. She regarded him nervously as he stared off  
into space, mumbling something under his breath.

"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into  
you . . . "

"Kuno . . .?" Akane asked, laying a hand on his back.

"Oh, Akane Tendo! You do care for me!" he cried, latching onto Akane. "I would date with you!"

Akane's fist came down on Kuno's head, driving his face into the dirt. "Date the ground, you pervert!"

* * *

Ranma sat, hunched over, under a bridge across the aqueduct. He was afraid to look, but knew he had  
to. Slowly, he rolled up his sleeve and looked at the blue line with mounting dread.

It had grown longer, up and down his arm, nearly reaching his palm and elbow at each end. It also had  
two new lines, just as wide as the original, spreading out from its sides, encircling his arm like a cuff. It  
glowed bright for a couple seconds before dying down into its calm, dark blue.

He ran his fingers over the lines, watching as they lit up, and became warm to the touch. 'What the hell  
is this . . .? Why is this happening to me?' he thought, both restless and worried.

* * *

He had decided to take the long route home. Of course, Ranma didn't actually know a long route, so he  
instead wandered around Nerima in the general direction of the Tendo home. He walked like the living  
dead, trudging through the unfamiliar streets.

Sparing a glance at his arm, which was hidden under the long sleeve of his shirt, Ranma grimaced. What  
was he going to do? How was he going to keep the marking on his arm hidden? Someone was bound to  
find out sooner or later and then what? This was going to cause even more problems. He buried his face  
in his hands as he walked, suppressing a stressed groan.

His left arm lit up, shining almost bright enough to see through his red shirt. It pulsed fast, sending  
waves of strange vibes into the rest of his body. They vibrations seemed to scream at him, 'GET AWAY!  
THERE'S SOMETHING DANGEROUS NEARBY!'

Holding his arm against his chest, Ranma scanned the street around him. He looked over all of the  
nearby pedestrians, but saw no one that could possibly warrant such a reaction from his arm or his  
defensive instincts. However, across the street stood a church, and as he looked over it, the pulsing  
became all the madder.

Steeling himself, he crossed the street, stopping in front of the large entryway. 'Is it the church, or is  
there someone inside that's doing this?' He glanced down at his arm, which was still going wild.  
'Demonic, maybe? Is that what you are?'

Taking a deep breath, Ranma swallowed his nervousness and entered.

At first glance the inside of the church appeared empty, fifteen rows of pews leading up to the altar. A  
second glance revealed a lone man sitting in the front row, staring up at a large statue of a crucified  
Christ. His arm screamed in utter fear, urging him to flee, but also raging like a wild fire, pressing him to  
attack.

Instead, Ranma walked up the center aisle, his eyes never leaving the man's back. He duly noted that  
the man did not move; whether he was ignoring Ranma or hadn't noticed him was unclear. Stopping at  
the third row, Ranma slid into the pew, a little off to the side of the stranger. He wetted his lips with a  
quick slip of his tongue.

They sat in silence, Ranma still unsure if the man knew he was there. His arm was going wild, so much  
so, that it was beginning to piss him off. Ranma looked up at the statue of Jesus, and grinned as he  
thought about how good it would feel to break off its head.

He closed his eyes, collecting his thoughts. His mouth spoke before he could stop it. "Never really was  
big on religion, praisin' some God that never is around, goin' to church and what not. Bunch of crock, if  
you ask me."

The man remained silent, and Ranma was about to speak again, but stopped when he noticed the man  
shift slightly.

". . . and what makes you think I give a SHIT about your beliefs?" the man replied.

Ranma shrugged, even though he knew the other man wouldn't see it. "Just thought I'd tell you that all  
that prayin' seems pointless."

The man turned around in his seat, and Ranma got a clear look at him for the first time. He had unruly,  
long black hair, and his deep gold eyes stared through Ranma. Ranma noted that the man looked a little  
older, perhaps a year or two.

"Is there something that you want, or did you just come in here to annoy me?" the man asked coolly.

"Yeah, there's somethin' I want."

"And what would that be . . .?"

"I wanna know who the hell you are, 'cause I'm gettin' all kinds of bad vibes from you," Ranma said, eyes  
narrowing.

The man smile and tilted his head, observing Ranma. "I could say the same about you," he replied and  
stood up, revealing that he was very tall, at least over six feet. He moved to the aisle and began walking  
away.

Ranma turned in his seat to look after him. "Leaving already? And here I thought we were gonna be  
friends. I didn't even get to tell you my name."

The man stopped, but didn't look back. "Your name is meaningless to me."

"So then what's yours?" Ranma asked.

Pausing at the question, the man lifted his head to stare at the ceiling. "If you had one wish in the world  
. . . what would it be?"

Ranma looked confused, not quite sure if he should answer. "Why?"he asked cautiously.

"Humor me, and I will tell you my name," the man said, and Ranma could almost see the grin on his face  
through the back of his head.  
"To be free of my curse. . ." Ranma replied slowly. His arm flared in outrage, seemingly pissed off at his  
response.

The man nodded once in understanding. "My name. . . is Fuuma Monou(1), remember it," he said, and  
continued on his way until he had exited the church, leaving Ranma alone.

His arm calmed down, but still throbbed lightly, and Ranma understood what it wanted. 'Alright, let's  
get the hell out of this place.'

Standing abruptly, Ranma strode down the aisle and out of the church. He stopped outside the doors,  
eyeing the surrounding crowd, but saw neither hide nor hair of Fuuma. Looking down, Ranma blinked,  
noticing a lot of molted, pure white feathers.

He picked one up, and glanced around, frowning. "Where are all the birds . . .?"

* * *

Ranma hid outside the Tendo home until it was dinner, when he promptly appeared inside the house,  
silently taking his seat beside Akane at the table. He bowed his head, avoiding the looks he was receiving  
from everyone at the table.

"Where've you been, boy?" Genma grumbled as he waited for the food to be served.

"Around," Ranma muttered angrily. What business was it of his dad's to know what he'd been up to.

"Ranma . . .?" Akane asked nervously.

"By the way, Saotome, good job today," Nabiki cut in. "You managed to scare the living crap out of  
Kuno. After what you did, he was completely comatose for the rest of the day."

"He had it comin'," Ranma replied, glaring at the table top.

"What'd you do, Ranma?" Genma asked, curious to know how Ranma had scared the Kuno boy.

"None of your business."

Genma opened his mouth to reprimand his son but stopped as Kasumi entered, bearing their dinner.  
She placed it down on the table, and took her usual seat. Ignoring his son, Genma dove into the food, his  
anger forgotten in the taste of Kasumi's food.

Ranma ate considerably slower, thus allowing Genma to steal a large amount of his dinner. He didn't  
appear to care much, but underneath he was boiling. His desire not to use his left arm, and his father  
taking all of his food, were really pissing him off. He looked at Kasumi, finding her pointedly staring at his  
left arm, apprehension clear in her eyes. Sparing a glance at his arm, he saw nothing, nor did he feel the  
line pulsing, and he immediately wondered about what Kasumi was seeing.

Kasumi frowned as she watched Ranma. She tensed slightly, noticed only by Ranma, worry creasing her  
brow.

"Somethin' wrong, Kasumi?" Ranma asked under heavy eyelids, voice low and threatening.

Kasumi smiled serenely. "No, nothing wrong at all, Ranma-kun," she replied and popped a veggie into  
her mouth.

Nodding, Ranma returned to his food, though at times he stole glances at the eldest Tendo girl, making  
sure she wasn't watching him.

Everyone else returned to their own food, eating slowly, and wondering why Ranma was acting so  
strange.

Silently Ranma exploded, his left hand lashing out and grabbed his father's chopsticks. He snapped them  
with a simple flick of his wrist, and shoved his own chopsticks against Genma's throat, pressing them  
hard. He looked ready to stab them through his father's throat if his old man even breathed wrong.

The room froze over, no one daring to move, as Ranma regarded his father with a killer's eye. Everyone  
shivered, both from the scene before them and the sudden drop in temperature. Ranma had become so  
emotionally cold that his slow, cool breath was visible to the human eye.

"Boy-" Genma started, but stopped when he felt the chopstick twist and push harder against his throat.

"Don't 'boy' me," Ranma ground out. "I'm sick . . . and TIRED of you being such an asshole, Pops! I'm  
tired of you BOSSING me around! I'm just all around TIRED of YOU!"

"Now, Son-" Soun began.

"Don't SON me!" Ranma shouted, startling Soun. "I am NOT your son!"

His grip became so tight on his chopsticks that they began to crack. He exhaled so hard that his entire  
body shuddered.

"Ranma-kun, please calm down . . ." Kasumi said placidly.

Ranma's eyes trained on Kasumi, and he suddenly felt like a cornered animal. The white aura he had  
seen before was surrounding her, not as large, but slowly growing. He swallowed hard, and the  
temperature in the room began returning to normal.

The chopsticks dropped from his hand, and he stood up, frightened. He bowed his head, ashamed. "S-  
sorry . . . I don't know what came over me," he mumbled before quickly trudging upstairs.

"Ranma!" Akane shouted, standing up. What the hell was that about, she thought frantically.

Nabiki grabbed her arm, stopping her. "I think . . . Ranma should be left alone for a little bit."

Akane glanced at the stairs longingly, but sat down none the less.

Genma rubbed his neck, finding two small bruises from where the chopsticks had been pressing.  
"Wonder what's gotten into that boy. I think I'll sleep in the dojo tonight . . ." he said, shuddering  
slightly.

"That might be wise, Saotome-san," Kasumi said, surprising those around her. She sounded dead  
serious. "Ranma-kun needs time to himself right now."

* * *

Up in his room, Ranma shook. He shook harder than he had ever before, scared of what he had done,  
how he had acted, how he had threatened to kill his father. Very easily and happily, Ranma found he  
would have done so, if given a reason.

He rolled up his sleeve to look at the blue marks. His eyes closed and he bowed his head, seeing that the  
lines encircling his arm had curved upward, connecting in a sharp point. The original line had now grown  
past his elbow, further up his arm, as well as down into the palm of his hand. Two more had appeared,  
wrapping around his wrist like a bangle.

He rested his head in his right hand and sighed. Sure, he had gotten into a lot of problems before, but  
this . . . how was he supposed to deal with this?

Hours passed in silence as Ranma lay awake, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. He came up with  
nothing, only becoming more frustrated at the situation. Why couldn't he just have a normal life? Why  
was there always something new?

The door to his room slid open, and he rolled onto his side, facing away from it.

"Ranma . . ." Akane whispered.

He lay still, staring blankly at the wall. The door slid closed, and Ranma sighed again, feeling horrible. He  
fell asleep that night alone, still wearing his long sleeve shirt, left hand clenched in a tight fisht.

* * *

Breakfast had been a dispiriting affair, Genma having switched seats with Kasumi to sit as far away from  
his son as possible. With Kasumi beside him, Ranma appeared a lot more subdued, and nothing out of  
the ordinary happened.

It was another hot day in Nerima, and Ranma was still wearing his long-sleeve shirt, much to Akane's  
confusion. He wiped a line of sweat off his forehead, revealing that he was wearing a pair of black  
fingerless gloves.

"Why're you wearing that shirt and those gloves, Ranma?" Akane asked, fanning herself. "It's so hot  
out!"

"I can't wear what I wanna wear now? You gonna tell me what to wear every day?" Ranma sneered.

Akane blinked, shocked by Ranma's harsh response. She glared at him. "I was just asking, you jerk!"

Ranma shook his head and sighed, pushing the palm of his hand into his face, to ward away the anger.  
"Sorry, 'Kane. I'm still kinda upset about what happened last night."

Looking up at her fiancée as he balanced on the chain link fence, Akane frowned. "What did happened  
last night?"

Ranma looked up as he walked, as if contemplating her question.

The blood seemed to drain from his face, and his eyes grew wide. He shuddered, looking terrified,  
before falling off the fence, and onto the sidewalk. Landing on his side, Ranma's eyes rose upward again.

Akane looked up, but saw nothing. She squinted against the sun, and glanced around, confused. "What's  
going on, Ranma?"

"Y-you don't see it!" Ranma muttered. The sky was blood red. Stars, an even darker red than the sky,  
soared about overhead, but not a single one fell to Earth. The clouds were normal, but the sun was a  
massive, glaring, white ball tha–

"Ranma!"

Akane's shout cut into the haze of his mind, and he turned to look at her. Taking in her worried face,  
Ranma shook his head, and glanced at the sky again. His brow furrowed in bafflement.

Everything was normal. The sky was blue, clear, with a little cloud floating overhead, and the yellow sun  
beat down on his head. A single red bird flew past, almost mirroring the shooting stars he had seen.

He swallowed, wiping more sweat from his forehead. 'What the hell had he just seen . . . !

"Ranma?" Akane asked worriedly. "Are you ok?"

"You really didn't see it?" Ranma replied, still scanning the sky.

"See what? What did you see?" Akane looked around, becoming slightly annoyed.

"The sky!" Ranma shouted, throwing his arms up in frustration.

"Yes, Ranma, I see the sky . . . I see it every day, in fact," Akane replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No! It was red, damnit!"

". . . is this some sort of joke, Ranma, cause it's not funny."

"I'm totally serious, 'Kane! It was red! And stars were falling or somethin'!" He was still watching the sky,  
trying to find what he had seen.

"Right, Ranma! What, do you think I'm stupid or something?" Akane snapped, and marched away.  
"You're going to make me late for school!"

"Dammit, Akane! Don't be so bullheaded!" Ranma shouted, suddenly feeling very angry. His left arm  
began throbbing, and his hands balled into tight fists. He paused and took a deep breath, calming  
himself. The throbbing in his arm slowed then stopped. Glaring momentarily at Akane's back, Ranma  
took off after his irate fiancée.

* * *

Ranma sat restlessly at his desk. The whole day had been hell for him and it hadn't even reached lunch  
yet. All around the school he felt malice and evil. His arm felt like it was going to explode, it was  
pounding so hard.

So to pass the time he stared at his desk. It was all he could do not to go mad and literally climb the wall.  
It didn't help that his desk was extremely boring to look at.

He scanned the room quickly, seeing that no one else around him sensed the overwhelming malice in  
the air. They all sat like dutiful students, listening to their teacher. Sparing a glance at Akane, he found  
that she was pointedly ignoring him.

He sighed and rested his face in his hands. Everything was getting worse, and he and his anger were  
clearly to blame. It was all becoming an even bigger mess than before.

Akane snuck a peek at Ranma. What was with him nowadays? It was as if he only had two emotions:  
depressed and angry. A violent angry, which was really starting to scare her. She swallowed, when she  
noticed Ranma slowly standing up, staring out of the window beside him.

Ranma's heart beat fast, as though a cat from hell was chasing him. He placed his gloved hands on the  
pane of glass, staring blankly at the world outside. Devastation would be the word Ranma would use to  
describe it. All of Nerima was in ruin, buildings and homes in rubble, the streets cracked beyond use. The  
most disconcerting thing Ranma noticed was that there was no living soul in sight.

His thoughts ran rampant, unsure if what he was looking at was real or not. He could vaguely hear voices  
calling his name. They grew in numbers, some calling for him, some crying, some yelling. He covered his  
ears, and lowered his head, trying to block them out. They were pleading now, begging him to help  
them, louder and louder

'No, no, no, no, no! Stop!' Ranma mentally screamed, shutting his eyes. 'No, I don't want to see this! I  
can't help you!'

There was a loud ringing noise, and then clear voices yelling out his name.

"Ranma!"  
"Saotome!"  
"Ranchan!"

He snapped out of his daze, looking out the window with fearful eyes. Nerima wasn't in ruin, the roads  
weren't cracked, and in the distance he could see pedestrians going about their daily routines. Dully, he  
noted that the lunch bell was ringing, but that every student in the room was watching him anxiously.

With his left arm throbbing, hands balled into fists at his sides, Ranma turned around to face them. He  
glared balefully. "WHAT?" he shouted, causing everyone to flinch.

"Ranma. . .?" Akane whispered.

He turned back to the window, and opened it. Climbing out, he glanced back at his frightened  
classmates with regretful eyes. As he sighed, he caught sight of Ryouga walking toward the school,  
appearing absolutely lost. Suddenly grinning, Ranma leapt from the window sill, landing lightly in the  
school's front yard.

Ryouga blinked at Ranma's sudden appearance. "Ranma? What're you doing in Tohoku?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd see what it was all about, take in the sites, you know," Ranma replied sarcastically.

"Really? How odd . . ." The lost boy glanced around, taking note of his surroundings. Ryouga's right hand  
tightened into a hard fist. "Damn you, Ranma . . . don't mock me!"

"It's not my fault you couldn't find your way out of a paper bag," Ranma retorted, crossing his arms over  
his chest.

"Shut up!" Ryouga shouted, jumping into the air and throwing two bandanas at Ranma. "Die!"

Quicker than the eye saw, Ranma snatched the bandanas out of the air, catching them in-between his  
knuckles. He sprung back, away from Ryouga who had followed his bandanas, avoiding the other boy's  
fist.

Flicking his wrist, Ranma flung the bandanas back at Ryouga, who narrowly avoided them. He grinned  
maliciously. "You're just what I've been needin', pig-boy!"

The two teens charged each other and began exchanging blows, Ranma dodging around Ryouga's and  
Ryouga absorbing Ranma's. They bounded across the yard, punching, kicking, twisting and turning,  
making the violent act of their fight look more like a beautiful dance.

The pace increased, the blows becoming fiercer, the fighters madder. Ranma could feel the lines on his  
left arm pulsing wildly, seemingly thrilled by what was occurring. He found his heart beating just as fast,  
flushed with the excitement of releasing a lot of his pent up anger.

Stumbling back, he narrowly avoided Ryouga's uppercut. Need to pay more attention, Ranma thought,  
regaining his balance before parrying another punch.

"This is my new move!" Ryouga shouted, slamming his fingers into the ground. "Kadou Bakusai  
Tenketsu!" (2)

Ranma's eyes widened and he jumped backwards, shielding his face from the sudden onslaught of rock  
and dirt. Ryouga had given the Bakusai Tenketsu distance! Instead of it blowing up right in his face, it  
was blowing up in Ranma's. This was a major change and Ranma began to worry.

He ducked as Ryouga charged through the cloud of dust, evading a punch at his head. The sound of  
something exploding behind him caught his attention, and his head snapped to see what had happened.

Ryouga foot slammed into Ranma's chest, knocking him into the air. He skidded hard across the ground,  
clawing at the ground to slow his violent slide.

Ryouga gave chase, leaping into the air and slamming his fingers into the ground. "Kadou Bakusai  
Tenketsu!"

Rolling to the side, Ranma barely avoided the sudden explosion of ground. He spun on his back, to his  
feet and charged Ryouga. "Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken!" he cried out, his fists blurring, connecting a  
good seventy times before Ryouga was able to start blocking.

As Ryouga stumbled, Ranma scanned the area around them, wondering what had exploded earlier but  
quickly saw nothing. He ducked sloppily under a punch, feeling Ryouga's fist glance off the back of his  
head. Tripping to his left, he brought up his arms and blocked a kick to his face, but was still knocked  
back onto his butt.

He rolled backwards as Ryouga tried to step on his chest. Swinging out his leg, Ranma managed to  
sweep Ryouga, who fell, but stopped himself by placing a hand on the ground. The two quickly flipped  
back to their feet.

There was another crackle and explosion, and Ranma flinched, ducking his head. An uppercut caught his  
chin, snapping his head back, followed by his body. He fell heavily, slamming into the ground with a hard  
'thud'.

"What the hell's the matter with you, Ranma?" Ryouga asked. He had noticed almost immediately that  
Ranma wasn't completely in the fight, but instead was rather distracted.

"Nothin', Pig-boy!" Ranma snapped, and launched himself at Ryouga.

Ryouga stumbled back, surprised at Ranma's sudden onslaught of attacks. He grimaced as he dodged a  
right hook, realizing too late that it was a setup. Ranma's left hand connected with his cheek, and he fell,  
dazed by the hardest punch he had ever felt in his life.

How had Ranma gotten that strong, Ryouga thought, pushing himself to his feet. The hundred hits he  
took from his Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken hadn't even hurt as much as that one punch had! If Ranma had  
connected with that strength before, combined with the speed of the Amaguriken, Ryouga feared his  
head might not still be attached to his neck.

Ranma wobbled slightly, the crackles and explosions were growing more frequent, and his left arm was  
pounding joyfully. He felt like he was being pumped full of endorphins. Stronger, faster, he felt ready to  
take on the world. Now if only he could stop the growing sensation of losing control of himself.

A massive wave of red rolled across the sky, changing it to his nightmare. The sun flared for a moment  
before becoming pure white, while the ground beneath his feet quaked. There was a booming crackle,  
and then a bolt of red lightning struck the land, causing it to explode.

He jumped back to avoid the explosion. It was happening again, and he couldn't stop it. The ground  
underneath him erupted from one of Ryouga's Kadou Bakusai Tenketsu, and he was sent flying, gravel  
biting into his skin. His arm was blaring like a siren as he pushed himself to his feet, and another  
lightning bolt struck, right behind him.

Shielding his head, Ranma braced for the oncoming blast. Nothing happened, and he looked up. The  
world was normal once again, and Ryouga stood, watching at him oddly. The entire student body was  
staring as well.

Standing slowly, Ranma pressed his forehead into the palm of his right hand, as if to will away a  
headache.

"Ranma. . .?" Ryouga called out cautiously.

Like a cornered cat, Ranma sprang to life, bounding out of the schoolyard in just one jump.

"Ryouga?" Akane said, running up to the teen. "What happened?"

"I . . . I don't know . . ."

* * *

Ranma climbed through the window and into his room in one fluid motion. Unfortunately, he tripped on  
his father's futon, falling hard onto the floor. As he pushed himself to his hands and knees, he eyed the  
massive tear running along his shirt sleeve.

In frustration, he grabbed the sleeve and tore it off with one swift tug. The markings had spread even  
more. The ones encircling his wrist had curved upward, connecting in a sharp point. He peeled off his  
fingerless glove, the line stopping in his palm becoming pointed like an arrowhead. The two pointed  
sides of the arrowhead line had smaller ones growing out of them to ring around his palm and to the  
back of his hand.

The fight with Ryouga had done this that much was clear. Throughout the entire fight, he had noticed  
his arm pulsing. The blue lines seemed to be feeding off of his anger. "I have to stay calm," Ranma  
muttered to himself. "If I don't . . . there's no telling how big this thing'll grow."

He looked his arm up and down, taking a deep breath, and started pacing around the room. "Okay, what  
to do, what to do?"

His mind grasped the most logical thing. "Cologne! Maybe she'll know what's going on. . .!"

Footsteps, Ranma thought, hearing someone approaching. It had to be Kasumi, Ranma had little doubt.

He turned, and grabbed his blanket, throwing it over his arm. The door slid open, and Kasumi peaked  
inside.

"Ranma-kun!" Kasumi exclaimed, surprised to see him. "What're you doing home?"

"Um . . . I wasn't uh feeling well," Ranma lied, and faked a cough. He grinned weakly.

Kasumi crossed the distance between them and placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "Oh  
my! You're burning up!"

"I am?" Ranma said dumbly. "I mean, yeah! I am! Ooh, it hurts!" He covered his stomach and wailed  
pitifully.

"Oh my! I'll go make you some soup, Ranma-kun! You lay down and rest," she said, forcing him down  
onto his bed before hurriedly leaving the room.

Ranma chuckled to himself. "Good ol' naive Kasumi," he said, before pulling off his ruined long-sleeve  
shirt and putting on another one. He opened his window and hopped out, but not before grabbing his  
gloves. As he dropped to the ground, he slipped them on.

As she walked down the steps, Kasumi shook her head. "Such a horrible liar. . ." She reached the bottom  
just in time to see Ranma bound over the outer wall and her eyes narrowed. Something very bad, and  
very big, was about to happen.

* * *

"Hey, old ghoul, ya here?" Ranma called out as he walked into the Nekohanten.

A wooden staff came down on his head.

"Ow! Whatcha do that for, you old bat!"

It came down again. "What can I help you with, Son-in-law? Shan Pu isn't here right now, if you're  
looking to go out on a date with her," she said.

Ranma waved a dismissive hand. "Naw, I came here to talk to you, actually . . . ah, alone?" he asked  
hopefully.

Cologne raised an eyebrow, and smiled suggestively. "Hoping to take advantage of me, son-in-law? My,  
aren't you a wild one."

Ranma turned green. "Oh man, I think I just threw up in my mouth."

Cologne glared at him before bouncing out of the room on her stick, bidding him to follow.

The two entered the backroom, Ranma closing to door behind them. He spotted Mousse's empty cage,  
and frowned slightly, never really caring for how Cologne and Shampoo treated the blind boy.

"What can I do for you, Son-in-law?"

Ranma sighed. It was now or never. "Somethin's happenin' . . . and I'm hopin' you might have some  
sorta idea what's goin' on."

Cologne remained silent, waiting for Ranma to continue.

He first peeled off his glove, then pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, exposing his marked arm.

Eyes wide and open mouthed, Cologne stared at it in shock.

"Any idea what the hell this is?"

* * *

Next Time: **Chapter 2 - In The End**  
When Happosai shows up, intending to put Ranma in his place once and for all, everything Ranma's  
been dealing with becomes a horrific consequence.

AN: 4/23/11 – Major revision. Fix a lot of grammar things and added some other stuff to make it easier  
to read.

(1)Fuuma Monou is from X1999, which I do not own, CLAMP does.  
(2) Kadou Bakusai Tenketsu literally means Mobile Breaking Point.


	3. Chapter 2: In The End

"Hey, old ghoul, you here?" Ranma called out, as he walked into the Nekohanten.

A wooden staff came down on his head.

"Ow! Whatcha do that for, you old bat!"

It came down again. "What can I help you with, son-in-law? Shan Pu isn't here right now, if you're  
looking to go out on a date with her," she said.

Ranma waved a dismissive hand. "Naw, I came here to talk to you, actually . . . in private?" he asked  
hopefully.

Cologne raised an eyebrow, and smiled suggestively. "Hoping to take advantage of me, son-in-law? My,  
aren't you a wild one."

Ranma turned green. "Oh man, I think I just threw up in my mouth."

Cologne glared at him before bouncing out of the room on her stick, bidding him to follow.

The two entered the backroom, Ranma closing to door behind them. He spotted Mousse's empty cage,  
and frowned slightly, never really caring for how Cologne and Shampoo treated the blind boy.

"What can I do for you, son-in-law?"

Ranma sighed. It was now or never. "Somethin's happenin' . . . and I'm hopin' you might have some  
sorta idea what's goin' on."

Cologne remained silent, waiting for Ranma to continue.

He first peeled off his glove, then pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, exposing his marked arm.

Eyes wide, Cologne stared, open mouthed in shock.

"Any idea what the hell this is?"

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any other animes that might appear in said fic at this junction . . . in  
time . . . right now.

"It seemed pointless to even run, yet everyone did, and that only made things worse. How can you  
possibly outrun a giant tsunami? It seemed like God decided to wash the world clean . . . but He didn't . .  
. He didn't at all."  
- Unknown

Demon's Candelabrum  
A Ranma ½ Crossover  
By Hawk

AN: The disclaimer for the rest of the animes will be at the end of this chapter. Thank you. Ranma ½  
takes place right before Ranma finally meets his mom. Please, please review if you like it, hate it,  
whatever, I'd like to hear what you have to say.

Updated: 4/23/11

**Chapter 2 - In The End**

* * *

"My word . . ." Cologne uttered softly. "What . . . when did this . . . happen?"

Ranma sighed. "Great . . . by your reaction I can tell you have no clue what this is."

"When did this happen?" Cologne asked, hopping closer to get a better look. She scanned it with  
narrowed eyes.

"These past two days?" Ranma replied, unsure.

"Past two days?"

"It didn't used to be this. . . big. It's been growin', it used to be just this line," Ranma explained, pointing  
out the original mark.

"And it's spread this much over the past two days?" Cologne was turning his arm over, studying all the  
lines and their designs. "It's warm, unnaturally so!"

"Well . . . yesterday and today . . ." Ranma muttered, getting slightly annoyed at how Cologne was  
manhandling his arm. He pulled his arm away as it started to pulse and glow.

"It's . . . glowing?"

"Oh? Is that the word for what it's doin'?" Ranma replied sarcastically.

"Don't be smart with me, boy," Cologne snapped.

"Aw, come on, Cologne, you know I'm never smart," Ranma exclaimed and blinked. "Wait, that didn't  
come out right."

Cologne smirked before becoming serious. "Have you figured out why it glows?"

"I dunno really . . . when I get mad it does. When I was fightin' Ryouga this afternoon it was goin' crazy,"  
Ranma explained, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"What does it feel like?" Cologne asked calmly, diminutive hand resting at her chin.

He clenched his left hand into a fist, becoming serious. "Like it has its own heart, it beats like hell, like  
there's way too much blood flowin' into my arm. Drives me crazy."

"And it does this when you're angry? It glowed just a second ago, what was that about?"

"I was annoyed at you for pokin' and touchin' my arm like you were," Ranma said, and his arm started to  
glow again. He took a deep breath, calming himself. "Sorry. I'm getting' angry a lot nowadays, most of  
the time without even realizin' it."

Cologne sighed and touched his arm again. "I shall . . . search my books for any diagrams that look like  
what's on your arm. Hopefully there's something, and we can figure this out."

Ranma nodded, and rolled his sleeve back down before slipping on his glove.

"Come back tomorrow, son-in-law, and hopefully I'll have something. In the mean time, try to stay calm.  
Use the soul of ice training, and hide your arm as best you can," Cologne suggested. "We don't need  
other people knowing about this, there's no telling what kind of complications that might lead to."

Steeling himself, Ranma forced himself to bow respectfully to the old woman. "Thanks . . . old ghoul."

The wooden staff came down on his head.

"Hey! What was that for? I was trying to be polite!" Ranma yelled, rubbing his head.

"Your concept of polite is very skewed, son-in-law."

* * *

Ranma returned home thirty minutes later, a shopping bag in his hand. It was filled nearly to the brim  
with make-up, something Ranma wasn't too proud about buying, especially as a guy. He had reached  
the store counter, realizing his mistake when the cashier gave him a not so subtle look of confusion.

He lied, saying it was all for his girlfriend, and heard the cashier mutter something along the lines of,  
'must be one ugly broad'.

Grimacing at the thought that his make believe girlfriend was ugly, Ranma considered going back to the  
store as a girl and chewing the guy out, by pretending to be his own girlfriend. That would have shown  
the jerk.

As he hopped over the outer wall and into the Tendo's front yard, he noticed Kasumi, standing alone,  
hanging laundry to dry. Leaping to his room, he dropped off the bag and quickly crept downstairs.

He snuck into the kitchen, hoping to steal a bite to eat. Looking around, he spied Kasumi again, who was  
still outside, but ignoring the laundry she had been planning on hanging. Her gaze was skyward.

Following her lead, Ranma's eyes slowly widened. The sky was red again, and the bloody stars were  
streaking across it. He looked down at Kasumi, who appeared lost where she stood.

She could see it . . . She could see the sky . . . Ranma realized. He walked up behind her, unnoticed by  
the spaced out Tendo. "You see it, don't you?"

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed, turning to face him and placing a hand over her chest. "Ranma, you  
frightened me! Again! I really wish you'd stop that!"

Ignoring her admonishment, Ranma looked her in the eyes. "You can see the red sky," he stated bluntly.

"See what?" Kasumi asked innocently.

"Don't lie to me! I know you can see it!" Ranma retorted, pointing up, but not breaking eye contract.

Kasumi blinked and looked, frowning. "I was just admiring the pretty clouds, Ranma-kun."

Ranma peered upward, seeing the normal blue, and a couple of clouds floating by lazily. One looked  
very closely like a rabbit.

Turning his eyes back on Kasumi, he watched her suspiciously before sighing. He couldn't bring himself  
to truly doubt her. "Sorry for yellin' at ya, Kasumi, I'm . . . I've just been a little out of it lately."

"It's quite alright, Ranma-kun. Just please, don't frighten me anymore," she replied, smiling kindly,  
lightly poking his chest with her pointer finger.

His arm pulsed at the slight contact, much to his surprise. "Ok, sorry, Kasumi. I won't anymore," Ranma  
said lightly before walking back into the kitchen and out of her sight.

Once back in his room, he dumped the make-up on the floor, and pulled off his shirt. With Amaguriken  
like speed, he began applying it over the blue lines, covering them as best he could. When he was done,  
he stretched out his arm, admiring his work.

"Heh, not bad. Bet Akane couldn't do make-up this good," he said, grinning to himself. "Wait, that's not  
good! I shouldn't be more girly than my fiancée!

"Now if Akane was more like . . ." His thoughts drifted back to Kasumi, and his expression hardened. He  
could have sworn she saw it . . .

* * *

"Ranma?" Akane said as she knocked on the door.

"Yeah?"

"Um . . . can I come in?" Akane asked tentatively, shivering involuntarily. It was suddenly really cold, and  
she could already feel the tray of food in her hands lose some of its warmth.

"In the room?"

". . . Yes, in the room," Akane replied irritated. "I just want to see if you're ok. You didn't come down for  
dinner."

"Wasn't hungry. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Oh, well I brought some food up for you . . ." Akane said, holding out the tray of food in her hands, even  
though Ranma couldn't see it.

"I'm not hungry."

Akane's eyebrow twitched. "I didn't make it."

"I'm starvin'."

"Then can I come in?" she asked.

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Akane growled. Here she was, trying to be nice, and he had to be a total jerk.  
Her grip tightened on the tray.

"Could you just . . . leave the food?"

"Fine!" Akane snapped, dropping the tray of food and storming off, not worrying about the mess she'd  
just made.

The door to Ranma's room slid open a little and a chilled breath escaped into the hallway. His arm  
darted out, grabbing the tray and pulling it in. The door closed, and everything was as if nothing had  
occurred.

* * *

The next morning came, and for the second night, Genma slept in the dojo. He had tried to enter their  
bedroom, but had been painfully ejected by his son. Upon his ungraceful exit, Genma could only mutter  
the word, 'Cold' over and over again as he made his way to the dojo.

Ranma did come down for breakfast, looking haggard, wearing his long sleeve red shirt, and the same  
fingerless gloves as before. Sleep was something he had not been privy to, and it had taken a toll on his  
temperament. He took his seat in-between his father and Akane, who both appeared annoyed by his  
being there. As he waited patiently for the food to be served, he did his best to ignore everyone and  
thing around him.

His presence seemed to chill the entire room.

Akane was having none of it. "Ranma . . ."

"WHAT!" he snapped, standing up, slamming his hands down on the table.

"Don't snap at me!" Akane shouted, standing up as well.

"Boy . . ."  
"Son . . ."

"Don't you two start with me!" Ranma said, turning on Genma and Soun. "I will kick both your asses if I  
have to!"

"Don't talk back to m-" Genma started before Ranma's fist planted itself in his face. He dropped like a  
sack of coal, unconscious.

There was a collective gasp around the table at Ranma's savage punch.

"Oh my!"  
"Holy . . .!"  
"Ranma!"  
"Saotome!"

Ranma turned and glared at everyone. Seeing all of their frightened faces, he slowly breathed in. His  
body tensed for a moment before relaxing. When he exhaled, his breath was a visible wisp.

"I'm going to school," he muttered, turned and walked out of the house.

* * *

"Damn Ranma . . . running away from our fight," Ryouga muttered as he sat and started a fire to cook his  
breakfast.

"Um . . . excuse me?"

Ryouga blinked and looked up at the girl that had addressed him. "Yeah?"

"I don't think it's legal to start a fire on school grounds," the female student of Furinkan High nervously  
replied, blushing shyly.

"Oh, oops, heh," Ryouga mumbled and quickly stamped out the fire he started. He clenched his fist, and  
sneered, looking off into the distance. "First he makes me camp out in front of his school, and now he  
makes me miss my breakfast! Damn you, Ranma!"

Ranma landed on his head, peering down at him. "Damn me, what?"

Ryouga's eyebrow twitched and he reached for Ranma, grabbing his collar. He pulled Ranma down and  
sneered at him. "For the injustice of making me miss my breakfast, I'm going to kill you!"

"Wha . . .? How's it MY fault you missed breakfast?"

"Because if you hadn't run away like a coward yesterday, I wouldn't have had to camp out here and wait  
for you to finish our fight!" Ryouga explained, shaking Ranma a bit.

"Ryouga, Ryouga, whoa there! First things first, we gotta talk. Somethin's happened."

"We'll talk when you're dea-" Ryouga stopped, becoming somber. "What's wrong? Is it Akane? Is she in  
trouble? Is it another prince?" He glanced at Ranma's arm. "Is that your lunch?"

"Ryouga . . ." Ranma pleaded, looking around to see if anyone had heard what Ryouga had said.

"I said is that your lunch!" Ryouga shouted, violently shaking Ranma.

Ranma smacked Ryouga's hand off his collar. "Here!" he exclaimed, shoving the bento into Ryouga's  
chest. "Now would you just follow me!" He marched off to the forest behind the school.

Ryouga followed, happily clutching the bento in his hands, managing not to get lost on the way.  
When the two reached a private enough spot, Ranma turned to face him, looking solemn. Sensing the  
seriousness of Ranma's position, Ryouga became studious, waiting to hear what he had to say. While it  
had been determined that he would take Ranma's life, it didn't mean he didn't think of his rival as  
something more than just that. As much as he loathed Ranma, Ryouga truly did respect the pigtailed  
martial artist. He'd never admit that though, maybe the day he died.

Ranma sighed and looked at the pool a couple yards away. He rolled up his sleeve revealing his left arm.

"Is that make-up?"

"Yeah."

Ryouga chuckled, but stopped when Ranma glared daggers at him. Ryouga swallowed instead. "Uh . . .  
okay, why are you wearing make-up?"

"Somethin's happened. Somethin' BIG," Ranma said. "It'd probably just be easier to show you . . ."

Ryouga watched Ranma cautiously as he walked over to the pool and shoved his left arm into the water.  
It wasn't enough water to trigger his curse, but just enough to wash off all of the make-up, uncovering  
the strange blue markings. It almost appeared as if Ranma's flesh was melting away.

Ranma walked back to Ryouga, his arm dripping water.

"What . . . what the hell is that?" Ryouga asked before glaring. "Is that Martial Arts Calligraphy? That's  
why your punch yesterday was so hard!"

"No, it ain't Martial Arts Calligraphy!" Ranma snapped. "This line showed up two days ago, and it's just  
been spreadin'. More lines keep comin', and I don't know why.

"I went to Cologne yesterday to see if she knew anythin', but she didn't. She's lookin' in her books for  
anythin' that might be helpful. Right now, the only thing we've got is that when I get mad the lines  
spread."

Ryouga nodded slowly. "And why're you telling me this?"

"Because that's not all . . . I didn't tell Cologne everythin' I should have," Ranma explained. "I guess I'll  
tell her when I see her today."

"That still doesn't explain why you're telling ME, Ranma."

"Because even though all we do is fight with each other, I know I can trust you. You and I've helped each  
other before when we were in rough spots. I'm in a rough spot."

This made Ryouga pause, and he blinked. Ranma trusted him? Here he was trying to kill Ranma every  
time they met, and the idiot trusted him? In disbelief, Ryouga nodded, recalling the times he and Ranma  
had helped each other. Ranma truly was something else. "So you're asking for my help, eh?"

"Sorta . . . I don't really know what I'm askin' for right now, I just feel like I should tell you what I've seen."

"Seen?"

"I'm havin' weird dreams, and seein' things like when we were fightin' yesterday," Ranma explained,  
and his arm pulsed once at the thought.

Ryouga eyed his arm and pointed in surprise. "It glowed!"

"Yeah, it does that . . ." Ranma muttered, annoyed.

"Hmm . . . well that would explain why you seemed so distracted during our fight . . . So what'd you see  
that made you bumble around like you did?"

Ranma swallowed, and gazed up at the sky, his lips becoming a thin line. "A red sky . . . White sun . . .  
everythin' . . . destroyed," he replied, and looked back at Ryouga. "The things I'm seein' . . . I think  
somethin' is comin'. I think what I'm seein' is the future."

Ryouga snorted. "A red sky? Mass destruction? A white sun? I seriously doubt that's what the future will  
be like, Ranma."

"I'm serious, Ryouga! Somethin' IS gonna happen, and it ain't gonna be good! People are going to DIE!"

"Shut up, Ranma!" Ryouga shouted angrily, lightly pushing Ranma away. "No one's going to die! Nothing  
bad is going to happen!"

"Then how do you explain this!" Ranma retorted, holding up his left arm, which was glowing brightly.  
"Or the things I'm seein'! I can feel it, Ryouga! Somethin's gonna happen and it's gonna happen SOON!"

"You better shut up, Ranma, you're really starting to piss me off!" Ryouga yelled, grabbing Ranma by the  
collar of his shirt again.

Ranma's eyes flashed dangerously, and the beating in his arm grew stronger. "Let go of me now. . ." His  
voice was deadly calm.

"Or what . . .?" Ryouga sneered.

"Or-"

"Sweeto!" Happosai bounced off Ranma's head, propelling Ranma hard face first into the ground.

Ryouga blinked at his now empty hand a moment before he was trampled by a mob of angry girls. The  
bento was spilled across the cement.

The two teens twitched weakly, sprawled on the ground. They both bounced to their feet, glaring angrily  
after the perverted martial arts master.

"Ranma?"

"Let's kill him."

"My thoughts exactly."

The two cracked their knuckles and took off after Happosai. Together they dove through the first floor  
window after the diminutive pervert, rolling to their feet. They turned, facing the old man, who looked  
utterly lost.

"Damn, lech!" Ranma growled.

"Ah, Ranma, my boy! When did you get here?" Happosai asked innocently, readjusting the bag of  
unmentionables on his back.

Ranma pounced toward Happosai, sweeping low. Happosai easily hopped over it, but was punched out  
of the air by Ryouga, sending the diminutive man flying down the hallway. The two gave chase again.

A Happou Dai Karin flew toward them and Ranma twisted in his run, kicking the bomb in flight and out a  
window. It exploded outside causing the other windows in the hall to shattered inward, glass launching  
at the two. As Ranma knocked the glass out of the air with his quick speed, Ryouga ignored it, letting it  
hit him. It bounced off casually, none of which cutting his hard skin.

"Where'd he go?" Ranma asked as he looked up and down the hallway.

"I don't know!" Ryouga replied, doing just the same.

"That damn bastard," Ranma sneered, the lines of his arm lighting up.

"Ranma!"

Ryouga and Ranma turned at the voice, seeing Akane running toward them.

"What's going on?" she shouted.

"It's that damn Happosai!" Ranma ground out.

"Figures," Akane muttered before noticing Ranma's arm. "What's on your arm!"

Ranma's eyes went wide, realizing he hadn't reapplied make-up to his arm, or rolled down his sleeve. He  
quickly did so.

"That doesn't matter right now, Akane," Ryouga said, attempting to help out his rival. "We gotta find  
Happosai before he causes anymore trouble."

Ranma sent Ryouga a grateful look.

Akane nodded. "You're right, whatever that baka did to his arm can wait."

"Did you see which way he went?" Ranma asked impatiently.

Kuno's voice came from around the corner, "Perverted fiend, dare you face the wrath of Ku-URK,"  
followed by his body, which slammed into the wall behind him.

"My guess is that he's that way," Ranma said knowingly.

"Gee, what made you guess that?" Akane sarcastically replied.

The three took off running, Ranma taking the time to bounce off Kuno's head to gain a little more speed.

"Thanks, Kuno!" Ranma called back.

"Damn you, Saotome!" Kuno shouted, and charged after them.

"Akane-chan!" Happosai cried, appearing suddenly in-between Akane's breasts.

Ranma's, Ryouga's, and Akane's fist came down on the old man's head, slamming him into the ground.

The master of the Anything Goes Martial arts was on his feet in an instant. "You hurt my feelings so!"  
Happosai whined, before brightening. "You'll make me feel better, Ranma!"

Ranma stumbled to the side, barely avoiding a bucket of water, and a swipe from Kuno's bokken.  
"Whoa!"

"Come and get me if you can, Ranma!" Happosai cried, and hopped off down the hallway.

Ranma ducked under another swing before planting an uppercut on Kuno's chin, sending his head  
through the ceiling. The three turned to follow Happosai, leaving Kuno hanging.

Various students were starting to show, watching the chase anxiously. They hid inside the classrooms, or  
watching from around corners, wanting to see, but not wanting to get caught up and hurt.

"HOHOHOHOHO!"

Ranma, Ryouga, and Akane grimaced as Kodachi hopped through a window in front of them.

"Ranma-sama!" she called out demurely. "I've come to help you!"

Ranma blinked. "Help me? Really?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes! This harlot shall hold you prisoner no longer!" Kodachi cried, pointing a slim finger at Akane.

Ranma and Akane sighed.

"Hey, are you guys even paying attention to me?" Happosai called out from the end of the hallway.

"We're gettin' to you!" Ranma snapped, bristling with anger. His arm pulsed, lighting up under his shirt  
sleeve causing Kodachi to stop and stare at it.

"What in th-"

Akane's mallet came down on the back of Kodachi's head, knocking her face into the floor. "Alright, let's  
go," she ordered, lugging her mallet over her shoulder.

Ranma and Ryouga nodded, wincing at the sight of Kodachi as they once again took off after Happosai.

Said perverted martial artist bounced back and forth along the walls as he ran. A lone panty slipped from  
the bag, but Happosai paid it no mind. He had bigger things on his mind.

The underwear smacked into Ranma's face, momentarily blinding him before he managed to pull it off.  
"What the . . .?" he muttered, holding the underwear up in front of his face. His eyes went wide as the  
adorable Hello Kitty stitching. "Panties!"

"Pervert!" Akane shouted, punching him in the back of the head.

"What didja do that for!" Ranma shouted, eyebrow twitching.

"You know what you did!" Akane retorted.

"Um . . . you guys?" Ryouga tried.

"I didn't do nothin'!" Ranma cried, glaring angrily.

"Then why're you still holding those panties!"

"Guys. . . ?"

"It's not MY fault that they hit me in the face! It's not like I planned on it!"

"Oh, yeah right, Ranma! Knowing you, you purposely ran right into them!"

"Yeah, that was my plan from the beginning! Chase Happosai in the hopes that some panties fall out and  
run my face right into them!"

"GUYS!" Ryouga screamed. "We're letting Happosai get away!"

Ranma and Akane shared a glance before nodding, their argument behind them. They had bigger fish to  
fry.

"Which way did he go, Ryouga?" Akane asked as Ranma hurriedly tossed the panty aside.

Ryouga pointed. Further up the hallway, a lone door was open, a trail of panties leading toward it. "I  
think he went that way," he bit out sarcastically.

"The basement?" Akane muttered suspiciously.

"Alright, let's get that pervert," Ranma grinned, punching a fist into the palm of his other hand.

"Right!" Akane nodded.

* * *

The last nail was easily hammered in, and Ryu Kumon sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his brow.  
He had finally finished the rebuilding his family dojo, after six hard months of working on it alone. When  
he lost his fight against Ranma, he had returned home to his demolished dojo, and immediately went to  
work. It was something he had needed to do, for his dead father's pride, and for his own self control.  
The project had helped him control his temper, as well as hone his body because of the hard manual  
labor.

There was a small tremor, and Ryu tensed, expecting his dojo to collapse. He sighed again when it didn't,  
and smiled, proud of his work.

"What the hell was that?" he asked aloud, and walked outside of his dojo. He looked around at the  
surrounding forest.

It was silent for a moment, before he felt the ground rumble again. It was different this time, a  
continuous rumble, at first weak, but was steadily growing stronger. A deer burst into view from the side  
of his dojo, followed by another, and then a bear. A massive horde of forest animals rounded the other  
side, fleeing wildly, from what, Ryu didn't know.

"What the hell is going on?" he shouted, as the animals rushed by, bodily crashing into one another.  
Some slammed into the trees, but they continued running as well. Nothing phased their frightened,  
frenzied stampede.

There was a loud thud at the back of his dojo, and he turned to look. Another thud followed, and then a  
harder slam, before the back wall exploded inward. A bear charged through the newly made hole,  
followed by two deer and a dozen other rodents.

"My . . . my dojo," he muttered in shock as the animals ran past him, ignoring him completely.

He looked up, just in time to see a lone shooting star. "Red?"

Something large slammed into his back, throwing him forward, knocking him unconscious when his head  
hit the ground.

* * *

Down in the basement, Happosai stood before a demonic summoning circle, drawn with the blood of  
goats, cows and other various animals. He grinned to himself as he studied the array of candles and  
markings in front of him.

"Are you sure this will work?" Happosai asked.

No one replied.

"I'll take that as a yes then. It had better, for your sake." Happosai grumbled, before rubbing his hands  
together gleefully.

Happosai pulled a seven branched Menorah out of his bag. Carefully, he placed the candelabrum in the  
middle of the circle, and lit a match. (1)

He lit the first candle. "Inochi. . ."

He moved to the seventh, and ignited it. "Oujou. . ."

The second candle was lit. "Gechi. . ."

He shook out the match and struck another, reaching for the sixth candle. "Kaosu. . ."

He licked his lips and ignited the third. "Jikoku. . ."

His grin became feral as he lit the fifth. "Uchuu. . ."

The match moved toward the fourth, and last candle, before a light breeze blew it out. Frowning at the  
match, Happosai reached for another.

"What're you up to, you old lech?" Ranma asked, having just arrived at the end of the stairs. He crossed  
his arms over his chest with a cocky grin, his left arm glowing lightly in the dark.

"Damn you, Ranma!" Happosai growled. "You won't stop me this time!"

"Happosai, what are you doing?" Akane exclaimed, taking in the strange summoning circle on the floor.  
It was a disturbing image, and she could smell the unpleasant stench it filled the room with.

"Punishing Ranma once and for all!" Happosai cackled.

"Not today, pervert!" Ranma shouted.

Ryouga nodded his head in agreement. Though Ryouga hated Ranma, the thought of someone else  
'punishing' him didn't sit well with him. He wanted to be the one to beat Ranma.

"Just try and stop me!" Happosai dared, pointing a wrinkled finger at Ranma.

"Fine by me!" Ranma shouted before ducking under a swipe from Kuno's bokken. Using his forward  
bending momentum, he kicked behind him, hitting Kuno in the chest and knocking him back. "You just  
won't give up, will you Kuno!"

"Never, fiend!" Kuno exclaimed, climbing to his feet.

"Ranma-sama!" Kodachi cried, prancing into the room. "I've come for you!"

"Great," Ranma muttered. "Ryouga, you take Kuno, Akane: Kodachi! I've got Happosai!"

"Why should I do what you say?" Ryouga yelled, jumping after Ranma, and ignoring Kuno.

"Damnit, Ryouga!" Ranma dodged around another bokken swing.

"I've got you now! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!" Kuno screamed, attacking Ranma wildly.

Ranma easily avoided the strikes, bending and twisting out of the way.

Ryouga punched at Happosai, but missed, the diminutive old man jumping and landing on his swinging  
arm. He grunted in surprise when Happosai's small pipe smacked into his face, sending him across the  
room and into the wall.

Akane backpedaled as Kodachi whipped her ribbon. She lashed out with a kick, but missed as Kodachi  
gracefully dodged around it.

Ranma back flipped, using the momentum to kick Kuno in the chin. He stumbled back and turned to face  
Happosai, who was about to strike another match. Diving, he grabbed the match out of Happosai's  
hand.

"I don't think so, you damn lech!" He held the match up mockingly, and stuck out his tongue. "Ha ha!"

Tears leaked from Happosai's eyes. "Why're you always so MEAN to me, Ranma?" he whined, wiping the  
tears from his eyes.

Bending down over the candelabrum, Ranma inhaled, looking ready to blow out all the candles.

"NOOOO!" Happosai cried, suddenly throwing a dozen lit matches at Ranma.

Surprised by the onslaught of flaming matches, Ranma dropped the match in his hand, and quickly  
batted the others out of the air. "Ha! Nice try!"

His grin fell as Happosai dove forward, a lit match in his hand. Using Amaguriken speed, he reach down  
and grabbed flaming stick just below the flaming head. The flame was stopped less than an inch away  
from the candle.

Time seemed to slow for Ranma, his heart beating so slowly, he thought it might just suddenly stop all  
together. The small flame of the match reflected in his eyes as they widened in horror. The fire was  
about to lick his finger, and he'd no doubt react by dropping it. Right on the candle.

He glanced left. Akane was tangled up in Kodachi's ribbon, as they fought in front of a dozen wooden  
crates. For a split second he thought he saw a shadow move behind them in the glare of the lit candles.

He looked behind Happosai, seeing Ryouga and Kuno charging them, moving an inch a minute. Their  
yells were drawn out, sounding low and deep. Kuno's bokken was pointed forward, ready to stab, while  
Ryouga leaping, arms outstretched to tackle.

He started to inhale, planning on blowing the match and candles out in one large breath. His heart beat  
fast again, and the flame of the match hit his fingers. Instinctively he dropped the match, still sucking in  
air.

The candle was lit. Happosai was screaming something. He was blowing as hard as he could. The  
symbols on his arm flared brighter than it ever had before and Ranma thought they might engulf the  
entire room.

The lines of blood underneath him turned into beams of red light, shining brighter than the ones on his  
arm, and upward in the design of the summoning circle. The candles on the candelabrum were blown  
out a moment later, Ryouga and Kuno crashing into Ranma and Happosai.

"NOOOOOOO!" Happosai screamed, horrified, attempting to break free.

The candelabrum fell over, shattering into seven pieces. The ground underneath them cracked and  
splintered, and the red beams of light spread, filling the entire room.

Ranma raised his left arm to shield himself, his right trapped underneath Ryouga's back. A beam of dark  
red light shot out from the shattered candelabrum, and Ranma's eyes widened as it headed right for  
him.

* * *

Tenchi Masaki yawned loudly, as he was pulled along by Sasami Jurai. The two were heading to the local  
market so Sasami could get the ingredients to the dinner she planned on cooking that night.

Tenchi had been ordered by his grandfather to walk her there, much to his displeasure. Sure he loved  
Sasami like a sister, but at 7:30 in the morning, any loving feelings he had were severely lacking.

He could have still been in his warm bed, Tenchi mentally lamented. He spotted a couple grownups  
staring at him, most likely wondering why he wasn't heading to school.

While everyone else was going to high school, he didn't have to, his old school still being rebuilt from  
when it was burned down. It wasn't his fault. Okay, so maybe it was, he thought sheepishly.

"Come on, Tenchi! We're almost there!" Sasami squealed, tugging on his hand, her long pigtails flapping  
behind her.

Tenchi yawned again. "Yeah, yeah . . . did we really have to leave so early?"

Sasami nodded emphatically. "I want to get an early start on the recipe, plus, the best vegetables are  
brought first thing in the morning!"

Shaking his head, Tenchi sighed. She was gonna make some guy really happy one day. He felt her grip on  
his hand tightened and peered down at her.

"Tenchi . . ."

"Eh, What's wrong, Sasami-chan?" he asked, kneeling down beside her.

"Something doesn't feel right . . ." she whispered, looking absolutely terrified.

Tenchi stood up, and looked around. He could feel it as well. Something heavy and deadly was racing  
towards them.

"Sasami-" Tenchi started, but stopped to stare as a shooting star, the color of blood, flew over them. He  
jumped back, pulling Sasami with him as a bolt of red lightning crashed into the ground. The force still  
knocked them off their feet, and sent all the other surrounding pedestrians into a panic.

Tenchi grunted as someone stepped on his hand, forcing him to let go of Sasami's. "Sasami!"

"Tenchi!" She was being dragged away in the mass of frightened people.

Though he was hit by running knees and wild elbows, Tenchi managed to push himself to his feet.  
"Sasami!" he yelled, but was drowned out by the screaming mob.

Another red bolt of lightning landed a few yards away from him, instantly vaporizing the people around  
it, and blowing him off his feet once more. His back slammed into the wall of a building, followed by his  
head. Tenchi dropped to the ground hard, and he reached out a hand, hoping to find Sasami's.

His vision grew blurry. "Sasami!" he weakly cried. Before succumbing to the darkness, Tenchi swore he  
could feel sand under his hands and against his face.

* * *

Hikaru Shidou rubbed her eyes as she ran. She had just woken up, taken a quick shower, and hurried out  
of her house. Though it was only 7:30, and class started at 8:00, she knew it would take her an even 45  
minutes to get to her school. In other words, she was going to be late.

She couldn't afford to be late again; it would be her fifth time this semester, and that would seriously  
affect her school record. Her long pigtail swung about as she ran, catching the eye of many pedestrians.  
It wasn't every day they saw a natural redhead run by, especially one as cute as her.

"Sorry! S'cuse me! Pardon me!" Hikaru called out and she wove her way through the crowds.

This was the second time that week, she thought angrily. Her stupid brothers had laughed at her instead  
of being helpful.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as she bumped into the back of a taller man.

The man stumbled forward before turning around, clearly annoyed. "Excuse me! Do you mind watching  
where you're going?" the man ground out.

"I'm-I'm sorry!" Hikaru stuttered loudly, embarrassed and distressed by what she'd done. "I didn't mean  
to run into you!"

"Yeah, well-"

The ground erupted underneath them, a large piece of cement slamming into the man's skull, breaking  
it open.

Hikaru fell backwards, face freckled with blood, and scared out of her mind. "W-wh-wh-what-"

The ground beneath her began to crack and she scrambled to her feet just before a water pipe jutted  
out, nearly impaling her. She looked around at the swelling throng of riotous people, screaming for their  
lives, shoving and trampling one another to get away. Someone crashed into her, knocking her into  
someone else, and for a moment she was bounced around like a pinball.

She screamed out as the building across the street collapsed. The poor souls unlucky enough to be  
running by it were crushed, killed instantly, along with those unfortunate enough to be inside. Tears  
sprang to her eyes, and though she knew none of those people, the loss of human life was a painful  
thing, especially witnessing it firsthand.

A knee slammed into her temple, making her cry out. Everything became a blur, and all she could hear  
was the overwhelming screams.

"Help!" she croaked, grabbing someone's pants.

The person shook her hand off in their frantic hurry, ignoring her plea.

Something exploded nearby, and a man fell on top of her, knocking her out.

* * *

"I'm so screwed on this test," Kagome Higurashi mumbled as she walked to school. She had returned  
from Feudal Japan just so she could take this math test, and she already knew she was going to blow it.

Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered coming back at all, she thought. Either she would take  
it and fail, or skip it and fail. No matter what, she was bound to fail.

She sighed. "Why can't I ever have a history test?" she wondered aloud. "It's always a math test!"

"Look at that!"  
"Whoa!"  
"Is that a shooting star?"

Kagome blinked, and looked around. Everyone was staring at the sky, with wide eyed awe. She turned  
her gaze skyward, and joined the crowd. Dozens of red shooting stars were streaking across the blue  
sky.

"What's going on?"  
"Amazing!"  
"This is so cool looking!"

Kagome swallowed. Something didn't feel right. Down in her gut she could feel it. There was a loud  
crackle, and then a lightning bolt slammed into the middle of the street. The concrete exploded, and  
screams shattered the air.

Backpedaling, Kagome tripped over her own feet, and onto her butt. Someone pulled her to her feet,  
and she was suddenly being pushed from behind, forced to run with the rest of the frightened mob.

She ran hard, faintly hearing more crackles of the lightning and then the deafening boom of it hitting the  
earth. The ground shook with every strike, the people around her stumbling clumsily, some tripping, and  
pulling down others. A woman pushed her, and scratched the side of her cheek, drawing blood.

She ignored her bleeding cheek and continued to run, breath leaving her lungs as fast as it entered,  
unsure of where exactly she was heading. The ground under her feet cracked, and she twisted her ankle,  
falling to her knees. The crackle was louder this time, and she had no chance of avoiding the red bolt of  
lightning that struck right in front of her.

* * *

Inu-Yasha grunted as he pulled himself out of the Bone Eaters well. He hopped onto the edge, and  
sniffed the air. "Stupid Kagome. . ." he muttered. "Always making me come after her."

Walking out of the small hut and into the open air, he immediately knew something was wrong. Looking  
skyward, his eyes widened, taking in the shooting stars and a rolling wave of red overtaking the blue sky.

"What the hell . . .?"

The hut which hid the Bone Eaters Well caved in, burying the well for good. As he turned back to look at  
what had happened, the ground underneath him shot up, throwing him into the air.

* * *

From where he stood inside the forests surrounding Mount Fuji, Pantyhose Taro looked up, taking in the  
numerous shooting stars.

His eyes narrowed as he heard the sound of thunder booming in the distance.

* * *

"Usagi?"

"Yeah, Rei?"

"No matter what happens . . . I want you to know . . . that I have always . . . ALWAYS hated you."

The ground around the two Sailor Senshi shattered and disintegrated, along with the two girls.

* * *

Naru Narusegawa's heart clenched in her chest as she stared at the sky; never in her life, had she seen  
such a thing. A heavy exhale escaped her lips. She stood, with unsteady legs, on the steps leading to the  
Hinata House. Fear was her captor, and the realization that Keitaro, Mokoto, and Kaora had gone out  
earlier that morning to walk through the park, and she had turned down their offer to join them.

Now, as a giant wave of red rolled across the sky above her, and long strips of lightning struck in the  
distance, she truly wished that she had. With a quick glance at the Hinata House, she clutched the front  
of her shirt tightly, and began running down the stairs leading to the street.

The ground rumbled beneath her and she stumbled, tripping down a couple steps and landing hard on  
her side. Looking back to the house, she tried screaming, but no sound issued from her mouth. A  
massive bolt of lightning was tearing through it at a sideways angle, tearing it apart in a great explosion.  
In an instant, the place she had come to call home was gone, and the stone steps beneath her were  
crumbling to nothing, causing her to fall.

* * *

"Keiichi, stay inside the temple!" Belldandy screamed, reaching out a hand for him.

"I have to get Megumi! She's out there somewhere!" Keiichi Morisato shouted back, pulling on his  
motorcycle helmet. The blue sky had been overrun by what looked like a red wave, and lightning bolts  
were raining down, crushing the earth.

"You'll die!"

"So will my sister!" Keiichi stated and took off running towards his motorcycle.

"Then I'm going with you!" Belldandy declared and started for the front door.

"Big sister, no!" Skuld cried out, grabbing Belldandy's hand. Urd hurriedly pulled Skuld off.

"I have to go with Keiichi!" she replied and stepped out the door.

As she did, a red lightning bolt crashed through the roof of the temple. The building exploded violently,  
throwing Belldandy off her feet where she landed hard and ungracefully on her stomach.

She raised her head and looked around her. The temple was gone, her sisters with it, and Keiichi was  
nowhere to be seen. Belldandy cried out in anguish, tears flowing down her cheeks. Another bolt  
crashed into the ground a number of yards away but retained is form, suddenly dragging across the  
earth and tearing it apart in its wake.

* * *

Yuusuke Urameshi grunted as another person rammed into him. "Kuwabara!" he shouted.

"Yuusuke!" The tall redheaded boy shoved his way toward Yuusuke, and the two, once again together in  
the mass of fleeing people, worked their way through the crowd.

"What the hell is going on, Yuusuke?" Kuwabara shouted over the screams of the crowd.

Yuusuke pushed against someone that had stumbled in his way. "I don't know!" He looked up at the sky,  
observing what looked like a red tidal wave rolling over the blue.

"Watch out!" Kuwabara screamed, shoving Yuusuke aside.

Yuusuke fell into two other people, knocking them over. A massive bolt of lightning crashed into the  
middle of the street, instantly vaporizing over a dozen fleeing pedestrians. Pushing himself to his feet,  
Yuusuke was jostled by more rushing people before finally regaining his balance. He looked around him.

"Kuwabara!" he cried, frantically looking for his friend in the berserk crowd. "KUWABARA!"

Something heavy slammed into the back of his head. He dropped to his knees, and felt the back of his  
head. A warm liquid ran over his fingers and he knew immediately that it was his blood. Slumping to the  
ground, Yuusuke closed his eyes, suddenly very tired.

* * *

The beam of red light struck Ranma's left arm, and he screamed wildly, fear clutching his heart. His left  
arm lit up brighter than ever, momentarily blinding him. As six more red beams flew out from  
summoning circle, he struggled against Ryouga, who was still lying on top of him.

One of the beams hit Happosai, whose scream was cut off as his body disintegrating in a flash. Ranma  
managed to push Ryouga off of him, just in time to see Kodachi get nailed in the chest. She vanished just  
as Happosai had, laughing maniacally the entire time.

Yelling, Ranma reached out for her disintegrating form, not caring that she was a monster in her own  
right. His hand started to vanish as he did and he felt himself being overwhelmed, as if a mountain of  
weight was piling onto his body.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Next Time: **Chapter 3 - Those That Survive**  
Those that survived are now left to come to terms with what's happened. The World has changed, and  
they're all about to find out just how much for the worse.

AN: 4/23/11. Made revisions just like with the prologue and chapter 1. Lots more added, cleaned up a  
lot of mistakes.

Tenchi Muyo was created by Masaki Kajishima.  
Magic Girl Rayearth is the property of Clamp  
Oh! My Goddess was created by Kosuke Fujishima  
Yu Yu Hakasho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi  
Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi  
Inu-Yasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi  
Love Hina was created by Ken Akamatsu

I obviously own none of these series, so this is my disclaimer for them. I put it at the end so as not to  
spoil what was going to be crossed over. Other manga/anime's will be introduce later as well.

(1) This is what the Candelabrum is built like, and what Happosai said in Japanese means in English.  
1. Life - Inochi  
2. Order - Gechi  
3. Time - Jikoku  
4. ?  
5. Space - Uchuu  
6 .Chaos - Kaosu  
7. Death - Oujou


	4. Chapter 3: Those That Survive

The beam of red light struck Ranma's left arm, and he screamed wildly, fear clutching his heart. His left  
arm lit up brighter than ever, momentarily blinding him. As six more red beams flew out from  
summoning circle, he struggled against Ryouga, who was still lying on top of him.

One of the beams hit Happosai, whose scream was cut off as his body disintegrating in a flash. Ranma  
managed to push Ryouga off of him, just in time to see Kodachi get nailed in the chest. She vanished just  
as Happosai had, laughing maniacally the entire time.

Yelling, Ranma reached out for her disintegrating form, not caring that she was a monster in her own  
right. His hand started to vanish as he did and he felt himself being overwhelmed, as if a mountain of  
weight was piling onto his body.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any other animes that might appear in said fic at this junction . . . in  
time . . . right now.

"When the red beam thing hit me, I thought it was the end. I was so grateful when I woke up, I thought I  
was the luckiest guy alive, even with my curse and all my other problems . . . but once I saw what had  
happened . . . outside . . . Yeah, I didn't feel so lucky."  
- Ranma Saotome

Demon's Candelabrum  
A Ranma ½ Crossover  
By Hawk

AN: Thanks to everyone that's reviewed, you guys rock. I hope you got my responses, and I hope you  
review some more! I'll be driving home right after posting this so I won't respond to your reviews  
immediately, but I will get to them. Though this story has many characters, it will mainly revolve around  
Ranma's doings. So please don't give up on it if it goes to a certain character for a couple paragraphs.

Updated: 4/23/11

**Chapter 3 - Those That Survive**

* * *

"Ranma! Ranma!"  
"Hey, wake up already!"

"Ugh. . . what hit me . . .?" Ranma muttered, sitting up and rubbing his forehead. His eyes snapped  
open, remembering what had happened. "My God . . . I'm alive . . .?"

Akane dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around him. She immediately started crying into his  
chest. "Don't do that! I was so worried!"

Ranma ignored her, and looked up at Ryouga, who towered over the two, frowning. "What happened?"

Ryouga shrugged indifferently, crossing his arms over his chest. The sigh of Akane crying was pissing him  
off, and of course it was Ranma's fault. "Don't know. One minute we're all going after Happosai, the  
next everything's shaking ,then I'm waking up on top of you and you were crying out in your sleep 'Oh  
mommy! Mommy, save me! Save me!'"

Pushing himself to his feet, Ranma pried Akane off his chest. He didn't have time for her crying or  
Ryouga's jokes.

"Where're Kodachi and Happosai?" he asked, looking around the wrecked basement. The walls were  
covered with cracks, the ground was in an upheaval, and the ceiling looked about ready to cave in.

Ryouga had the decency to look ashamed. "Don't know that either. Last thing I saw was Kodachi . . .  
disappearing . . ."

"Into thin air, yeah, I saw that too. . ." Ranma replied plainly.

"Do you think she's dead?" Akane asked worriedly.

"I don't know, and right now, I don't care," Ranma muttered, rubbing his left arm which was pulsing at a  
calm, steady beat. He marched to the stairs and up them, Akane and Ryouga trailing after him, leaving  
an unconscious Kuno behind.

"We can't just ignore the fact that Kodachi and Happosai are GONE, Ranma!" Akane shouted as she  
followed behind him.

Ranma turned and faced Akane, looking deadly serious. "Watch me. What happened down there is  
bigger than just us, Akane," Ranma stated before muttering under his breath. "Much bigger . . ."

Akane swallowed nervously as they reached the top of the stairs and the first floor hallway. She looked  
out the first window she found, seeing nothing but the outer wall surrounding the high school. It was  
covered in cracks and looked ready to collapse.

Ranma was already walking down the hall and toward the front doors. He could hear the sound of other  
students talking, excited shouting, and horrified crying. Hurrying his pace, Ranma reached the front  
doors, one of which was hanging loosely, having become unhinged at the bottom.

He slipped outside, taking in the torn up ground, and collection of confused students, mulling about the  
front yard. They were wandering toward the front gate, something having caught their attention.

"No . . ." Ranma whispered and took off running.

"What! What's wrong?" Akane shouted, chasing after him.

Forcing his way through the crowd of students, Ranma reached the front gate, and was able to see just  
what everyone else was looking at. The blood drained from his face, and his legs wobbled beneath him.  
He planted a hand on the crumbling wall, stopping himself from dropping to his knees as his heart  
clenching painfully in his chest.

Akane appeared beside him, looking confused. "What's wro-" She stopped and stared, mouth falling  
open. "No . . . that can't be . . ."

It was just like Ranma had expected; ruin, destruction, death, and nothing but it. Nearly every building  
was in rubble, the city streets fractured and torn. Where there wasn't debris, there were miles of fresh,  
golden sand.

Ranma's hands balled into fists as he stared at what was once Nerima. His left arm pulsed delightfully.

A scream pierced the air and Ranma was up on his feet, rushing back toward the school, Akane right  
behind him. He broke free of the crowd again, just in time to see a round, dark purple, apparition the  
size of a beach ball floating in front of one of his classmates.

The brown haired student stumbled away from the phantom, falling onto her butt. The purple monster  
floated closer and a ghastly face appeared; two black, hollow holes for eyes and a large gaping mouth.  
Its jaws opened wide, almost as wide as its small size, and a loud, empty sucking noise emitted from it.

The color drained from the girls face, and soon streams of white and blue lines were leaving her body.  
The lines slipped into the creature's mouth, and it grew slightly bigger as it consumed them.

Ranma leapt forward, over two other students, and cocked his left arm back, which was throbbing  
wildly. He punched at the phantom, and his fist ripped through the hollow form which cried out in  
agony. The two halves of the dark purple phantom began to disintegrate before being blown away by a  
soft gust of wind.

He exhaled and turned to the girl. The rest of the students had gathered around, including teachers,  
who were running toward the two. Kneeling down, Ranma felt the girls face, finding her skin as cold as  
ice. Her eyes were wide, staring lifelessly, and only the very small rise and fall of her chest let him know  
that she was still alive.

Akane dropped by his side, followed by a couple teachers and some students. There were harried  
mumblings from the forming crowd as they all tried to get a better look at the fallen girl.

"What happened?" one of the teachers asked, reaching for the girl neck

"I'm not sure," Ranma replied, shaking his head. "She's alive though."

The teacher checked the students pulse, and waved a hand in front of her eyes, which remained wide  
and motionless. "She looks like she's in a coma of sorts," the teacher muttered, who Ranma realized  
must have been the school nurse. The woman snapped her fingers in front of the girl's eyes, still  
receiving no reaction.

Who know this school had a nurse, Ranma thought, and lifted the girl into his arms. She would've come  
in handy after a number of Ranma's fights.

"I think we should all move inside the school," he suggested, and looked at the group of people around  
him. "Where's the principle?"

"I believe he's still in his office. Hiding," Hinako-chan replied. Though she was currently in her child form,  
she was dead serious about what was happening.

"Well, let's keep him in there. We don't need him running around, making things worse," Ranma  
proposed before shouting, "Ucchan!"

Ukyou appeared at Ranma's side, looking ready to help, giant spatula strapped to her back. She had  
been inside the school when everything had happened and rushed out to see the mayhem. After  
debating whether or not to leave the school, she chose to stay and wait for Ranma. She was glad she  
had. "What can I do, Ranchan?"

"Go make sure that Principle Kuno stays in office." Ranma grabbed the sleeve of her shirt, staring  
straight into her eyes. "I NEED you to do this. Tie him up if you have to, I don't care, just make sure he  
doesn't get in the way."

Ukyou nodded. "Right, Ranchan!" As she started back to the school, two of the teachers turned and  
followed.

"We'll help you," one of them said, following behind her.

Ranma looked at Akane. "Get Kuno, he's still in the basement."

"But-"

"Don't argue with me! Just do it, ok!" Ranma snapped.

Glaring for a moment, Akane huffed and ran back into the school.

Ranma turned to Hinako-chan. "Where can we take her that's pretty spacious?"

"Follow me," Hinako-chan ordered, and she ran off into the school, Ranma and the rest of the gathered  
students following behind, yelling, and arguing amongst themselves. Someone was crying loudly into  
their hands.

"What's going on?"  
"Himiko, where are you?"  
"I hope my mom's ok!"  
"What happened?"  
"This is crazy . . ."  
"What're we gonna do?"  
"I wonder if my car's ok . . ."  
"I'm going out to look for my parents!"

Ranma spun around, glaring fiercely at the crowd behind him. Those that could see his angry glare  
stopped and fidgeted nervously. The rest of the students that couldn't continued to chatter, unaware of  
Ranma's boiling anger.

"Everyone shut up! Just shut up!" And the crowd did, mouths' slamming shut. "No one is leavin' this  
school, do you understand! Or do you WANT to end up like her?" he snarled, motioning to the comatose  
girl in his arms.

This seemed to subdue the mass of anxious students. Though most couldn't see the girl in his arms, they  
knew immediately what he was talking about. They would be taking a major risk by leaving, especially  
alone.

Ranma continued. "We're stayin' in this school. You get that?" No one showed signs of understanding,  
so he snapped, "WELL DO YOU?"

The crowd flinched, but slowly they all nodded.

"Saotome-san!" Hinako-chan called out, waving her hand to catch his attention.

Ranma nodded and hurried down the hallway, students and teachers shuffling behind him.

* * *

He opened his eyes reluctantly, the brightness surrounding him hurting his eyes. There was a weight on  
his back, and he was surprised to realize that half his body was buried under a pile of sand. Slowly, he  
dragged himself out and pushed himself to his knees.

Grabbing a hunk of sand, Tenchi Masaki let it all run through his fingers, and then dusted off his hands.  
The young man looked around, taking in his surroundings; a red sky, a white sun. There was either mass  
destruction around him, or mounds of clean sand.

He looked behind him, and saw nothing but a fresh desert of golden sand, stretching on for what  
seemed like hundreds of miles. The white sun shone brightly down on the world, but there was no  
heat. It was warm, with a slight breeze. If he weren't surrounded by so much destruction, Tenchi would  
have considered it to be a beautiful day.

He spun around frantically, scanning every direction. "Sasami? Sasami!" he called out, but got no  
response. The world around him was empty, no living soul in sight. "Where am I? Where is everybody!"

"Would you shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Tenchi turned around, looking for the person that spoke. Instead he found two floating spheres, each  
glowed a serene blue. They sluggishly took the shape of a man and woman, both transparent to Tenchi's  
eyes.

"Wha-! Who are you? What are you?" Tenchi asked, utterly confused.

"My name's Jinnai Hakato. I'm a soul. A ghost, a spirit, whatever you wanna call it, I'm like this because I  
died . . . and now I'm apparently trapped on this wasteland," the male apparition replied, expression  
sour.

"What happened?"

"I died," Jinnai repeated grumpily.

"No, that's not what I meant. Why is the world like this?" Tenchi asked, gesturing to their surroundings.

"You really think I know? One minute I'm running for my life, the next I'm a god damn floating ball that  
can't move! Now would you shut up, I'm tired and want to sleep! Dying takes a lot out of you!" the male  
soul ranted angrily.

The female soul nodded in agreement.

"Err . . . right, but . . . did you see a young girl with blue hair around here?" Tenchi enquired hopefully.

The male soul looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah . . . I saw a girl with blue hair . . . some huge red  
guys found her and carried her away," the soul said and shrugged. "She's probably dead by now."

"What?" Tenchi exclaimed, confused and worried, unable to stand the thought of Sasami being hurt in  
anyway. "Which way did they go?" he asked anxiously.

The soul of the man pointed in a direction, and said, "That way."

Tenchi bowed to the soul and took off running, which wasn't very easy, he feet sinking a little into the  
soft sand with every step.

"Wait a second . . . That's not the way they took the girl," the female soul said, frowning at her  
realization.

"Yeah, but it got him to leave, either way. Besides, how am I supposed to remember? Every direction  
looks exactly the same! Sand that way, sand that way! Oh look, more sand over there!" the male soul  
retorted.

"You're such a jerk."

"He was a jerk."

"I can't believe you're my boyfriend."

"Hate to break it to you, but I don't think I'm your boyfriend anymore since we're dead."

"Oh, that's the way you want it? Fine, see if I care, Jinnai!" the female soul replied, and dissolved back  
into her spherical form.

"Oh come on, Asuka! I'm just kidding!" the male soul side, crossing his arms over his chest. "God. . . I  
suddenly feel the need for a Snicker . . ."

* * *

Belldandy awoke slowly, and gracefully, moaning softly. Holding the side of her head, she sat up, and  
took in the area around her with awe and fear.

"What happened. . .?" she uttered weakly

She glanced behind herself at the destroyed temple, her sisters nowhere in sight. Desperation clenched  
at her heart, and she blinked away the oncoming tears. There wasn't time to cry; she and her sisters had  
been given no warning, something didn't understand. Why hadn't anyone from Heaven told them, was  
this the result of a bug Skuld had missed in Yggdrasil?

Her head was pounding, and for the first time in centuries, the Goddess felt complete and utterly lost.  
Turning toward the ruined city streets, Belldandy cried out, "Keiichi! Urd! Skuld! Can you hear me!"

Forcing herself to her feet, she shouted again, and again got no reply. Steeling herself, and holding back  
even more tears, Belldandy began walking in the direction that Keiichi had rode off in: Megumi's  
apartment.

* * *

Hikaru Shidou groaned loudly as she woke up. Lying on her stomach, face planted against concrete, she  
uncharacteristically spat up a wad of dirt and rock. She glanced up at the destruction around her, and  
the desolate street except for a dozen floating blue spheres. What surprised her was that she saw no  
dead bodies, where she knew there should have been. Her insides twisted, recalling the sight of people  
being crushed under rubble.

"Hello?" she called out weakly. "Is anyone here?"

"We're here," one of the floating spheres replied.

Hikaru jumped to her feet and squeaked out a frightened noise. "Wh-what are you?"

"Well, I'm Kaishi Shinigai. Well, I'm more of his soul, really," the sphere said, and took the form of a  
middle aged man.

"You-you're a soul?"

"We're all souls," Kaishi replied, gesturing to the others around him. "The souls of who we once were. At  
least that's what I think . . . but we're trapped here for some reason. We can't leave or go anywhere, and  
I don't know why."

"Why are there so few of you though?" Hikaru asked, looking at the couple dozen floating souls.

"Most of us were taken, to where I don't really know," Kaishi said.

"They were taken to Heaven!" another soul shouted angrily, taking the form of a middle aged man. "And  
we were left behind! We're in Hell!"

"Hell?" Hikaru muttered, looking around her. "I'm not the only one alive, am I?" she nervously pleaded,  
her hands wringing together. She didn't want to be the only living person on the planet. What had she  
done to deserve such a fate?

Kaishi shook his head. "No, I saw a small group of living people walk off in that direction just a bit ago,"  
he replied, pointing down the street.

Hikaru bowed twice, quickly. "Thank you!" she said urgently, before she took off running in the other  
direction, her pigtail flapping around behind her.

"She's going the wrong way. . ." Kaishi muttered, confused.

* * *

Ranma carried the girl through the doors and into the room Hinako-chan had entered. He blinked in  
surprise and confusion, taking in the walls and shelves of books. "This school has a library?"

"You learn something new every day, don't you, Saotome?" one of the teachers asked sarcastically.

"Alright, listen up everyone!" Hinako-chan shouted. She was standing on one of the tables, waving her  
hands up and down in order to catch everyone's attention. "We need someone to find and bring Kuonji-  
san and Tendo-san here."

"Already here, Hina-chan-sensei," Akane replied, carrying an unconscious Kuno on her back. She  
dumped Kuno unceremoniously on the floor.

"Good, can you get Kuonji-san and the other two teachers that went with her for me?" Hinako-chan  
asked sweetly, giving the Tendo girl doe eyes.

Akane sighed. "Alright, alright," she muttered, annoyed, and left the room again scratching her right  
thigh.

"Saotome-san." Hinako-chan turned to Ranma. "Put Fubuki-san down on the couch over there," she  
said, gesturing to a nearby couch.

Ranma nodded and quickly placed the girl, whose last name was Fubuki, down on the couch. The nurse  
from before appeared at her side instantly, checking her pulse and pupils once more.

"Now . . . I KNOW all of you are worried about your families right now, but the smartest thing we can all  
do right now is stay in the school." Ranma shook his head, adding in disbelief, "Never thought those  
words would come out of my mouth . . ."

"For once, Saotome-san is right," Hinako-chan said, nodding strictly in agreement, though it made her  
look cuter than anything else.

"Gee, thanks," Ranma bit out sardonically and rolled his eyes.

"All students are to remain inside the school until further notice. We have no idea what's out there right  
now," Hinako-chan ordered, and pulled out a yen coin. "And if any of you DO try to leave, then I'll be  
forced to punish you like the delinquents you are!"

The assembled students and teachers swallowed audibly. It was hard to decide which was worse: The  
soul sucking ghosts outside the school, or the soul sucking teacher inside that very room.

"Ugh . . . what the hell hit me . . ."

Ranma looked to Kuno, who was shaking his head, and slowly climbing to his feet. Frowning, Ranma  
hoped Kuno wouldn't go mad and blame everything on him. He always worried about Kuno's reaction to  
his sister's possible death. Would Kuno become even crazier than he already was at the news?

The tall kendoist palmed his forehead, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "Uh . . . I meant, what hit  
mine noble self?"

"Somethin' big, Kuno, somethin' REAL big," Ranma replied evenly, walking up to the other boy.

Kuno looked down at Ranma through slit eyelids. "Am I to presume it is your fault, Saotome, as it most  
likely IS," he growled, scratching the back of his right hand.

Ranma flinched noticeably at the accusation. As he had thought, Kuno's first reaction had been to blame  
him. Sadly, Ranma wasn't sure if the allegation was misplaced or not.

Keeping his eyes on Ranma, Kuno spoke to one of his Kendo Club members, and extended his hand  
toward him. "Hand to me your bokken, Taiji, so that I might smite this fiend once and for all."

Ranma met Kuno's eyes. "Now ain't the time, Kuno," he stated intensely.

Kuno's glare grew harder, and his arm remained outstretched. "The bokken, Taiji," he rumbled.

The Kendo Club member, whose name was Taiji, swallowed hard. "Kuno-sempai . . . I don't really think  
you should-"

"I didn't demand you to think, Taiji! Pass to me your bokken!" Kuno's face was turning red, his hand  
clenching.

"Kuno. . ." Ranma pressed impatiently but in all honesty. His eyes stayed on Kuno's, refusing to leave  
them, making sure that Kuno understood he was serious. "PLEASE! I'm asking you, BEGGING you, to not  
start anything. Not now . . ."

The older boy wavered slightly.

"Kuno-san . . . am I to believe you're being a delinquent?" Hinako-chan said, raising a yen coin  
threateningly. Her large eyes narrowed dangerously.

Kuno spared a quick glance at the diminutive teacher, before returning his gaze to Ranma's. His tongue  
nervously wet his lips.

Ranma pushed on, tone firm and earnest. "Just for now . . . Just hear what I have to say . . . Please . . ."

Kuno's arm finally dropped to his side in compliant defeat. His sigh was drawn out and frustrated. "Tell  
me what has happened then. Shall we speak plainly, black wizard Saotome?"

"Can you do that?"

* * *

Yuusuke Urameshi groaned and massaged the forming bump on his head. He looked back to see that it  
had been a street lamp that had fallen and hit him on the head, knocked him out during the panic.  
Studying the demolished street, he grimaced at all the evil spirit energy in the air.

"Kuwabara?" he shouted, his voice hoarse and received no response. "Yo, Kuwabara, where are you?"

He rubbed his head again, feeling warm liquid seep from the bump in his head. Glancing at his fingers,  
he found them covered in fresh blood. Yuusuke blinked, vision suddenly blurry.

"Kuwabara?" he called weakly before falling over face first. His vision darkened and he slowly fell asleep.  
The last thing he heard was the scuttling of tiny feet and someone shouting.

* * *

Hikaru sat mutely in the remains of her old home. None of her brothers were there, all possibly dead like  
Kaishi was. She had called out for them, but had gotten no response. Fearing the worst, her heart  
dropped into her stomach, feeling utterly alone and dismayed. Her brothers were gone.

Tears started to fall, unchecked. She didn't care how many fell or how pathetic it made her look. There  
was no one there to see her cry anyway.

"Hikaru, what are you doing?"

"I'm crying," Hikaru muttered in-between sobs.

"You don't have time to cry, Imouto. You gotta get up and get out of here. There's nothing here for you  
now."

Hikaru glanced up, her face streaked with tears, and saw her oldest brother standing only a few feet  
away. She shot to her feet, and began crying again, but was smiling brightly.

"Satoru-niisan! You're ok!" she reached out for him, but her hand passed through his body, and she  
realized immediately that he was the same as Kaishi. "No . . . you're . . . you're . . ."

"Dead? Yeah . . ." Satoru said, looking down his soul body with a small frown. "You can't stay here,  
Hikaru. Masaru and Kakeru are still alive. They looked for you but couldn't find you so they left with the  
other survivors."

"Did they know you were . . . were here?" Hikaru asked slowly, tears still falling. They ran down her  
cheeks, meeting at the corners of his lips and along her jaw.

"Yeah, we talked. They think you're dead . . . I thought you were dead . . ." Satoru smiled down at his  
fifteen year-old sister, though it was a rueful smile. "I'm glad you're alright, Hikaru, but you HAVE to go.  
You have to find them."

Hikaru nodded, wiping her cheeks clean with the back of her sleeve. "To the North?" she stated, trying  
to keep her emotions in check.

Satoru nodded. "You have to go." Hikaru tensed, unsure and he could tell she was fighting the urge to  
stay and not abandon his soul. That wouldn't do. "Now! You have to catch up with them!" he ordered.

"GO!"

Flinching at the harsh bark, Hikaru swallowed the bile in her throat, turned, and started to run away. She  
skidded to a halt and turned back to her brother's soul. "I love you, Satoru-niisan!" she yelled and took  
off at full speed.

"I love you too, Imouto. Please stay safe and find our brothers," Satoru said, though he knew his sister  
couldn't hear him. He watched her, long hair flapping as it trailed her, until she disappeared from sight,  
and he stood alone.

* * *

"Whatever Happosai was doin' down in the basement was bad," Ranma explained as he and Kuno  
looked out the library window and at the ruined and still crumbling world outside.

The two were alone, the rest of the students and teachers watching from a distance, allowing the two  
rivals a little privacy.

Kuno nodded, taking in everything the new world had to offer. "The old lecher surely has . . . gone to  
quite an extreme this time."

"He's gone now . . . he got what he deserved," Ranma muttered coldly, recalling the sight of Happosai's  
body disintegrating.

Kuno tore his eyes away from the destruction and glanced at Ranma. "Am I to presuppose he executed  
these plans in order to fully destroy you?"

"It's possible . . . that all this IS my fault . . ." Ranma replied blankly, and he stared out the window with  
the same amount of energy. It wasn't just the thought that Happosai had done this to get back at him,  
but the fact that he was the one that had been unable to stop the old pervert.

He absolutely blamed himself for failing to stop Happosai and the thought made his blood boil, making  
him ball his hands into tight fists.

"That is a great burden to bear, Saotome."

Ranma turned to Kuno, surprised by the kind sentiment. "I know, but someone has to, right? Might as  
well be me." He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the next part.

"I need you to understand, Kuno . . . that right now, you, me, and everythin' between us . . . it's over. If  
we can't stop fightin' and work together . . . then we might as well just give up and let everyone here  
die."

Kuno sighed, scratching the back of his right hand anxiously and glanced around, spying the group of  
students and teachers that stood by in wait. "I suppose you make a fine argument, Saotome. As much as  
I despise the notion of . . . operating in your devilish company . . . it is clear to see that I truly have no  
choice."

"Thank you," Ranma said, sounding grateful and utterly relieved. As strange as it was, having Kuno on his  
side for once seemed to lift a ten pound screeching monkey from his back.

The door to the library slammed open, and Akane, Ukyou and the two teachers from before stumbled  
in. Ukyou was bleeding from a large cut on her cheek.

Ranma rushed over to the four, looking them over anxiously. "Are you alright?"

Akane nodded.

"The bastard cut me with a pair of scissors . . ." Ukyou growled, wincing at the pain in her cheek. She  
touched at the cut softly. "We tied him up and left him in his office."

Ranma smiled. "First good news I've heard all day," he said just as the school nurse rushed over and  
started checking Ukyou cheek.

"Ranma?" Akane asked quietly.

"Yeah, 'Kane?" he replied, looking to her.

"I haven't seen Nabiki, have you?" she said, looking around the room quickly. "She would be here right  
now, talking with us."

Ranma frowned and sighed.

"Do you think she . . .?"

"I'm sure she's alright, Akane. She must've run off like the rest of the students," Ranma guessed,  
glancing out the nearest window.

"You think she went back home? That's where she must've gone. We have to go find her!"

Ranma clenched his teeth, feeling torn. "We can't, Akane, not with those things out there," he replied  
sadly and shook his head.

"But she could be in trouble! She could need our help!" Akane shouted, grabbing the front of Ranma's  
shirt, feeling desperate.

"She could be DEAD for all we know, Akane," Ranma shot back, feeling his annoyance grow. His arm  
grew hotter, and he sighed, aggravated, before covering his face with his hand. "We just can't, Akane,  
I'm sorry. We have to worry about the people in here right now, ok? Once we get the chance, we'll go  
out and find her, alright?"

"I . . . but . . . she could be hurt . . . what about Kasumi? Dad?" Akane muttered, tears welling in her eyes.

Ranma put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "When we get the chance, you  
and I will go home and find them . . ."

"You promise?"

"I promise, but right now we gotta make sure everything's settled here, alright?"

Akane nodded sharply, wiping the tears off her face. "Right, ok."

Ranma nodded. He turned back and walked over to Hinako-chan, who was still standing on top of the  
table, now talking with the other teachers.

"Hina-chan-sensei?"

"Yes, Saotome-san?"

Ranma looked around the room at all the other students who were quietly talking to one another, or  
sitting around utterly depressed and silent. "If I had to guess. . . I'd say there's only around 200-250  
people in here."

Hinako-chan shook her head, frowning largely. "Many students took off before Fubiki-san was attacked."

"Well that's just great," Ranma mumbled, rubbing his forehead, and looked around the room. "Where  
the hell is Ryouga?"

Akane and Ukyou spared a glance, and shrugged.

"That's even better! We really coulda used him!" Ranma shouted, throwing his arms up in frustration.  
His long sleeves fell down his arms, stopping at his elbows. "Today is a terrible day!"

"Saotome-san?"

"Yeah, Hina-chan-sensei?" Ranma asked, peering at his suddenly nervous teacher.

"It might be smart to explain why your arm is glowing, don't you think?" Hinako-chan suggested, eyeing  
his left arm which was lit up like a flickering candle.

Ranma glanced at his arm, then the remaining students and teachers. He licked his lips, realizing he  
couldn't ignore or hide his affected limb any longer. "I suppose that'd be a good idea, eh? I'm sure a lot  
of people are wondering what's up with it now."

"I'm, in fact, one of them," Hinako-chan stated solemnly.

Ranma nodded and climbed up on the desk beside his teacher. He rolled up the left sleeve of his shirt  
the entire way and swallowed hard before raising his left hand in the air for everyone to see. Waiting a  
moment to collect his thoughts, Ranma shouted, "HEY!" to get the crowd's attention. A few people  
heard him and looked at him curiously before he yelled again, this time catching the attention of  
everyone.

They all stared at and ogled his left arm in a mixture of confusion and disgust. It pulsed brightly at the  
attention, reveling in it even as Ranma felt himself grow nervous at the many eyes no watching him.

"Ranma?"  
"Ranchan?"

He exhaled lightly to calm his nerves. Attention for something weird was nothing new. "Now that you've  
seen my arm . . . you're probably wondering what the hell is wrong with it, right?"

Nearly everyone nodded, a few shouting out in agreement, and some just stared, somber, at his arm.

Ranma scanned the crowd, catching the eyes of Akane for a moment, who looked utterly confused and  
worried. Ukyou was just the same, the cut on her cheek now patched. Kuno was standing, arms crossed  
over his chest, waiting for the explanation. He found Gosunkugi amongst the crowd as well, having  
forgotten about him completely. The skinny, frail boy was staring hungrily at his arm, wringing his hands  
together. His right foot was rubbing anxiously against the floor.

"I don't know how this happened, and I don't know why it happened, or why it happened to me . . . but  
it's growin' . . . it didn't just appear like this, it was once just this line," Ranma said, and went on to explain  
how the lines had continued to branch out all over his arm.

"Ever since the lines first appeared . . . I've been seein' things. I've been seein' . . ." He swung a hand  
toward the nearest window. "Seein' what's out there. I saw this happenin', but I didn't understand it."

The crowd was silent, but clearly hanging on his every word. There were a few mutters amongst the  
people, but nothing too loud. There was a lot of uncertainty in their voices.

"I know this ain't makin' a whole lot of sense, but you gotta bear with me. What's out there," he pointed  
out the window, "is a livin' hell. I don't know exactly WHAT is out there . . . but I just know, my arm knows."

Pausing, Ranma lowered his arm and readied himself for the next part. He peered down at his feet. "I  
know a lot of you want to go out and find your families . . . but you can't . . . because . . . because . . ." He  
took a deep breath, and looked up to the white ceiling, unable to meet anyone's eyes.

"They're most likely all dead."

All muttering stopped, and the room became deathly silent. Though most of them had thought about  
the possibility, no one had come right out and said it. To Ranma, the room felt as though it was being  
crushed by one of Ryouga's Perfect Shi Shi Hokodan's, and it made him feel just as horrible.

"I'm sorry . . ." he muttered. "I shouldn't have . . ." He stood for what seemed like hours, trying to  
control the emotions welling up within him. Many people had started crying, some loudly, others quietly  
and it was all starting to get to him.

"Saotome-san?"

Ranma looked down, finding Hinako-chan tugging on his pants, peering up at him. Her eyes were  
brimming with unshed tears as well. She gave him a look which told him to keep going. He nodded and  
swallowed hard, trying to ignore all the crying, and rubbed his eyes furiously. Never had he thought that  
the diminutive teacher might have someone she cared for outside of Nerima, but that possibility was  
hitting him as well.

"Because of that . . ." Ranma continued, collecting his thoughts. "Because . . . we're alone now, so look  
around this room, at everyone that's here . . ." Everyone was watching him though, and he bit his lip  
nervously. He wasn't any good at this type of stuff, but felt the need to finish, even if it didn't come out  
like he wanted it.

"They're all you've got now . . . we're all we've got . . . and if we don't take care of each other . . . then no  
one else will. We maybe the last people alive on this planet and we may not, but all I know is that if we  
don't work together . . ." He looked off to the side, unable to say what he had said to Kuno.

With a single nod of determination, he looked to his fellow students. "So . . . live . . . and be content that  
you can . . . and live for each other now because for right now, we're all we've got left; each other."

The crowd's eyes were still on him, expecting him to continue.

Ranma nodded to himself this time. "Yeah . . . so that's all I gotta say." He hopped off the desk and  
turned to Hinako-chan, all business. "I need to talk to you in private," he said and turned to Akane and  
Ukyou. "You two too. Kuno?"

Kuno nodded and prepared to follow. He had shed no tears, and Ranma understood why. Kuno's father  
was still alive, though Ranma wouldn't be surprised if Kuno wished him dead and as for Kodachi's death,  
Ranma could tell that Kuno really held little to no love for her at all. Tatewaki Kuno had lost nothing he  
truly cared about.

The four left the room, Ranma heaving a sigh of relief as they did. The amount of depression and sorrow  
filling the library had been on the brink of overwhelming, and as he exited, he could breathe a little  
easier. They entered a classroom across the hall, Ranma shutting the door behind them firmly.

The four glanced at one another, and Ranma felt a little bit stronger knowing he had people at his side.

* * *

"Ugh. . . what a cheap shot," Ryu Kumon groaned as he spat up a wad of soil. "What the hell happened?"

Cupping a hand of sand, Ryu Kumon let it run through his fingers. "Sand . . .? What . . . where am I?" he  
wondered, looking at the vast desert around him. "My dojo!"

He spun around in the sand on his hands and knees. His hands gripped the sand underneath them, as he  
gazed at the spot where his dojo had been. "No . . . God . . . DAMNIT!" he screamed, rising to his feet. In  
frustration, Ryu threw the sand still in his hands, and kicked the ground.

"Whoever did this . . . is going to pay."

* * *

Ranma sneezed lightly. "Sorry."

"Quite alright, Saotome-san," Hinako-chan replied. "Now what did you wish to speak to us about?"

"We five are the best fighters in this school. You're the ones that'll have to protect everyone in here,  
from what's out there," Ranma explained.

"What do you mean by 'you're the ones'? What about you?" Akane asked skeptically.

"We all can't stay here forever, Akane." Ranma said and frowned. "Someone has to go and see what's  
goin' on out there. If there are any other survivors, if there's a city still intact."

Hinako-chan nodded, crossing her shorts arms over her tiny chest. "What Saotome-san says is correct.  
All the students and teachers here won't last more than a week at the most. Someone needs to go out  
and look for any type of civilization, or survivors."

"We need to find a place big enough or a part of a city large, and free of those monsters," Ranma added.  
"Nerima ain't really livable anymore, if you haven't noticed."

"Don't you think our first priority is to find out what happened and find a way to change everything back  
to normal?" Akane asked.

"As much as I'm loath to admit, Saotome-san is correct. Our first priority ought to be to obtain care for  
those weaker than us, and discover a place where we can all exist. Once we observe such a location, we  
may hunt for a trail to repair what has occurred," Kuno explained.

"This is ridiculous! We should find a way to fix this now! That way everything will go back to normal  
faster and everything will be alright! We won't have to waste our time looking for some city!" Akane  
argued.

"You'd risk the lives of everyone in this school?" Ranma rebuked angrily, speaking over Akane. "Is that  
what you want? We don't KNOW if there IS a way to fix what's happened, Akane! What if there isn't?  
Then what? We've wasted how much time looking, and for what? Nothing! We'll have no place to live  
then, and there's no telling how many of us will die from whatever's out there with us just LOOKING  
AROUND FOR GOD KNOWS WHAT! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?"

Akane winced and stepped back from Ranma's onslaught. She glared at him none the less.

"We need a place to stay, so we don't just wander and starve."

"I agree with you, Ranchan," Ukyou added simply.

Akane shot her a glare as well, annoyed by her sheep-like acceptance.

Ranma turned to Hinako-chan. "How long do you think-"

"We can survive here?" Hinako-chan finished.

"Yeah?"

"Well, the cafeteria should have a full stock of food. The chefs are still here, and the school is full, so . . .  
if we ration things well . . . like I said before, we could survive for seven days, a couple more if we ration  
wisely. Of course, we could go out into Nerima and scavenge some more food."

"A week, huh? I wouldn't want you guys to chance going out into Nerima, too dangerous." Ranma  
rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Alright, then I should go as soon as possible."

Akane stepped up. "I'll come with you then."

"No one's coming with me. I'm going alone," Ranma replied coolly.

"What about your promise! You said you'd go home with me so we could find Nabiki, Kasumi and Dad!"  
Akane shouted, feeling betrayed.

"I'm sorry, Akane, but . . . I'll check the house on my way out of Nerima. If Nabiki or they're there, I'll  
bring them back here."

"You just don't want me to go because you don't think I can protect myself," Akane muttered.

"This ain't got nothin' to do with being able to protect yourself, 'Kane. This has to do with protectin'  
the people in this school. If you come with me, then only Hina-chan-sensei, Ukyou, and Kuno will be  
here. I can handle whatever's out there alone; these people need all the protection they can get."

Ukyou nodded, ponytail bouncing on her back. "Right!"

"Though I could easily guard everyone in this building alone, I am not one to refuse assistance in such a  
matter as protecting lives," Kuno remarked.

Ranma eyed Kuno curiously, before nodding. "Thanks." He turned and looked at Akane.

The blue haired girl bowed her head for a moment. "Just . . . be careful out there, you baka."

"When am I not?" Ranma joked, grinning broadly.

"You want to field that question or should I?" Ukyou asked Akane.

"If you find someone at home, you bring them back here, you got that?" Akane ordered, jabbing her  
finger into his chest.

Ranma stumbled at her poke, but saluted. "You got it, Ma'am!"

"Alright," Hinako-chan started, cutting in. "I'll go explain what's happening to everyone else, you four go  
and break into the vending machines, and pack a backpack for Saotome-san to take with him."

"Right!" Ukyou nodded.

"Good idea," Ranma added. He was glad to have Hinako on his side for once. The previous time they had  
worked together, she had proved a valuable ally. It was different having someone with intelligence on  
his side . . . well, some intelligence, he thought, and glanced back at the childlike Hinako-chan.

* * *

Inu-Yasha growled as he pushed himself to his feet. Angrily, he swiped his hand across his mouth, wiping  
off the dirt before spitting out a piece of gravel. He shook his head violently, knocking the sand out of his  
long mane of hair.

"What the hell just happened," he grumbled to himself. He cracked his neck and looked out at the  
barren wasteland all around him. Kagome's house was nowhere to be seen, and upon looking back to  
the Bone Eaters Well, he noted its absence as well.

"Where the hell am I . . .? This sure as hell doesn't look like Kagome's time." He sniffed the air. "But I can  
smell her," Inu- Yasha muttered, and took off running in the direction of her scent.

* * *

Ranma shouldered his backpack, which rustled loudly, filled with candy bars and bottled water. He  
looked over at Akane, Ukyou, and Kuno. "I'm leavin' now. You guys . . . take care, okay? Take care of  
everyone. I'll come back as fast as I can."

"So you're leaving, just like that?" Akane asked.

"The faster I leave, the faster I find what we need and come back. Plus I gotta get through the horde of  
those . . . purple demon things," Ranma explained, turning toward the front doors of the school.

"What do you mean, 'horde'?" Ukyou asked, glancing at the entryway.

"I don't know how, but I can feel them out there. I'd say there're at least over 200 surrounding the  
school right now," Ranma explained easily.

"Then why aren't they coming inside?" Akane wondered.

"I don't know. . ." Ranma muttered, and looked back at the three. "But we should count our blessin's  
they're not."

There was a moment of silence, with Ranma visibly preparing his nerves for what waited outside, and  
wondering what else he should say. He rolled his neck, popping it in several place, and exhaled lightly.

"Once I'm out the doors, I want you to board them shut," he said finally.

"You're still going to go out there, even with all those things out there?" Ukyou exclaimed in disbelief.

Ranma nodded. "I gotta," he said and marched to the front doors. "Get ready to block that door with  
whatever you can: Desks, chairs, anything that could stop them from coming in."

He didn't wait for their response before pushing open the front door that was hanging on a single hinge  
and stepping outside. He glanced back through the broken doors and gave them a small, grateful smile.  
"See you later."

The door shut behind him, and Akane and Ukyou rushed to them, looking through the gaps.

Ranma was standing on the top step, hundreds of the floating ghostly spheres forming a semi-circle  
around him and the front door. A number of them opened their mouths, as if yawning, exhaling a grisly  
moan.

There was a loud screech and the two girls jumped in fright. They turned around, finding Kuno dragging  
a desk out into the hallway. He glanced at the two, noting their confused expressions. "Saotome said to  
block the door, and I intend to do so."

The girls looked at each other, then outside again. Ranma was walking down the steps, toward the mass  
of ghostly spheres, which in turn slowly backed away.

Ukyou tugged on Akane's sleeve. "Come on, we have to block this door. Ranma will be fine."

Akane nodded, sparing Ranma one last glance before turning to help.

Ranma swallowed audibly as he looked over the surrounding mass of dark, ghostly spheres. His arm  
pulsed calmly, slowly, in the face of so much danger, as if it knew something about the creatures that  
Ranma didn't. Bracing himself, and adjusting the backpack on his shoulders, he took a step off the stairs  
and onto the grass.

Behind him, he faintly heard the sound of things being pushed against the doors.

The circling purple wraiths watched him through their dark, hollow eyes, mouths gaping. They didn't  
attack though, instead inched away, seemingly studying him.

Taking a deep breath to get calm, Ranma took another step toward them. Even though he could easily  
jump up and through one of the schools many windows, Ranma knew there was no turning back. He had  
to go forward from this point on.

* * *

Next Time:  
**Chapter 4 - Lost Travelers**  
Strange dangers await those that wander so freely throughout ruined Japan, and some are about to  
witness first hand just how dangerous they are. Ranma attempts to make an impossible journey for  
help.

AN: 4/25/11: Fixed a lot of grammar mistakes and added some little things. All in all, about 2,000 more  
words than was previously in the chapter.

Hikaru from Rayearth does have 3 older brothers, Satoru being the oldest, Kakeru the middle, and then  
Masaru.

Niisan means older brother.

The students refer to Hinako (when in child form) as Hina-chan-sensei.

Tenchi Muyo was created by Masaki Kajishima.  
Magic Girl Rayearth is the property of Clamp  
Oh! My Goddess was created by Kosuke Fujishima  
Yu Yu Hakasho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi  
Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi  
Inu-Yasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi  
Love Hina was created by Ken Akamatsu

I obviously own none of these series, so this is my disclaimer for them.


	5. Chapter 4: Lost Travelers

Ranma swallowed audibly as he looked over the surrounding mass of dark, ghostly spheres. His arm  
pulsed calmly, slowly, in the face of so much danger, as if it knew something about the creatures that  
Ranma didn't. Bracing himself, and adjusting the backpack on his shoulders, he took a step off the stairs  
and onto the grass.

Behind him, he faintly heard the sound of things being pushed against the doors.

The circling purple wraiths watched him through their dark, hollow eyes, mouths gaping. They didn't  
attack though, instead inched away, seemingly studying him.

Taking a deep breath to get calm, Ranma took another step toward them. Even though he could easily  
jump up and through one of the schools many windows, Ranma knew there was no turning back. He had  
to go forward from this point on.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any other animes that might appear in said fic at this junction . . . in  
time . . . right now.

"I've been a stranger in a strange land before. But this time I was in a land so strange and so frightening,  
that I thought that I was dreaming. But if that were the case, it wouldn't be a dream . . . it'd be a  
nightmare."  
- Sasami Jurai

Demon's Candelabrum  
A Ranma ½ Crossover  
Story By Hawk

AN: Though this story has many characters, it will mainly revolve around Ranma's doings. And before some  
of you get confused, I have the entire story already thought out, who's alive, who's dead, the middle, the  
end. I'm not writing this chapter by chapter.

Updated: 5/9/11

**Chapter 4 - Lost Travelers**

* * *

Tenchi licked his dry lips, wishing he had something to drink. He had been wandering for hours, trudging  
through fresh desert attempted to trail Sasami and her captors. The soft sand slowed him down  
considerably, as well as wore him out, but he pushed on, determined to find Sasami.

'So dumb of me to run off like that . . . should've grabbed something to eat . . .,' Tenchi thought in  
frustration, his stomach growling. 'But I couldn't just let Sasami be carried off! I hope the others are-'

He stumbled and fell to his hands and knees. "Ugh!" His fist slammed into the ground. "I'm so hungry. .  
." he muttered, glaring at the random piece of cement he had tripped over.

Sighing into the sand with frustration, Tenchi pushed himself to his feet. "Gotta keep going . . ." He  
looked up, seeing for the first time a couple of small, run down looking houses about a mile away,  
running along a short strip of destroyed road.

"Houses . . . houses . . . have people . . . people . . . need food . . . I'm people! And I need food!" Tenchi  
concluded, jumping forward excitedly.

He started running toward the buildings but slowly came to a stop, unsure. His fist clenched at his sides  
and he studied the dusty ground intently. "Sasami . . . I WILL find you . . ." he mumbled before taking off  
running toward the houses again.

* * *

Ranma stepped forward and blinked as the assembled mass of wraiths slowly backed away in response.  
He took another step, watching as the wraiths backed even further. His fists clenched at his sides, and  
he found himself suddenly enraged.

"What's the matter? You'll attack a defenseless girl, but you won't come after me! Come on; come take  
a bite out of me!" he yelled, a dark blue ki suddenly surrounding his body, swirling around him like a  
living flame. His eyes flickered for a moment, and the blue lines on his arm turned a shade darker.

"WELL!"

The wraiths mouths opened, and every one of them let out a horrid moan. As one, the mass floated  
away, slowly filtering through the school's outer wall and disappearing throughout the remains of  
Nerima.

The lines on his arm brightened, returning to normal, and the flaming ki quickly died away. He snorted,  
catching his breath, and let his body relax. Blinking, Ranma looked around in surprise. "Huh . . . well that  
was easy," he muttered, straightening the pack on his back.

Tensing his legs, Ranma leapt into the air, landing on top of the remains of the school wall. He looked  
over what was left of Nerima, his expression hardening at the sight. With a last glance at the school,  
Ranma took note of many students watching him from the library windows, their faces a range of  
different emotions.

One of the students put their hand on the window as a wave goodbye and the rest followed suit. He  
smiled and waved back, grateful for the show of support. After jumping from the wall, the moment his  
toe touched the ground he was off, sprinting into the abandoned streets of Nerima.

* * *

He sniffed twice, confused by the smells pervading his nose. 'Is my nose messing with me?' Inu-Yasha  
thought, 'I keep losing her scent in this damn sand!' Growling, he swiped at the sand around him,  
sending it spraying.

"Kagome!" he cried. "Kagome! Where are you?" He sniffed the air again, trying to catch the aroma of  
her sweat. It was faint, but it definitely smelled like her. He dropped to his hands and crawled along the  
ground, letting his nose lead him.

Inu-Yasha stopped where the smell was the strongest and started to dig, shoveling sand through his  
legs. She was buried under the sand, possibly dead from suffocation. His hands sped up until they  
brushed against another hand.

"Kagome!" He dug around the hand, uncovering more of the body. "I've got you, Kagome, I've got-" His  
voice caught in his throat at the face that appeared. "No . . ."

* * *

Ranma frowned as he stood in front of what used to be the Tendo's front door. The entire house was  
destroyed, nothing but rubble now. "Pop? Mr. Tendo? Nabiki?"

He stepped onto the rubble and began kicking at the piles of wood around him. "Kasumi?" he called out  
tentatively, his heart dropping into his stomach.

He reached down and picked up what had been half of the 'Welcome' sign. Looking at it for a moment,  
Ranma frowned. "Anyone here?" he yelled. "Nabiki, you here?"

He closed his eyes, his head bowing and sighed deeply. "I won't forget . . . goodbye," he muttered and  
turned away from the rubble. The 'Welcome' sign dropped from his hand at his side and he found he  
had to force himself to walk away.

He rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands, pushing away the oncoming tears, and stopped, his  
back to the rubble. "I'll see you guys later." With that said, he took off running as fast as he could away  
from the remains, never once looking back.

* * *

Inu-Yasha slammed his arms deep into the sand, wrapping them around the small, fragile body. With a  
firm tug, he pulled Souta's unconscious body loose, before laying the boy out on the sand.

He placed his dog ear next to Souta's lips, listening for breath. Kagome had once tried to teach him a  
thing called SEE PEE ARE. He had listened to her, and started to watch her practice it, but yelled at her  
and freaked out when she almost kissed Miroku. He had stubbornly refused to let her continue with her  
explanation.

Now he wished he had let her. He couldn't hear or feel Souta's breath on her ear. Remembering what he  
had seen, Inu-Yasha quickly began pressing down on Souta's chest.

"How's this supposed to work, damnit!" he growled, feeling foolish. "Come on, do something, breath!"

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki was having a bad day.

His fight with Grimmjow had been interrupted as a giant red wave washed over the sky. The ground  
around them had exploded upward, and the Arrancar had had vanished, along with the world around  
them it seemed. So far he had been unable to locate Rukia or anyone else he knew.

Had Aizen succeeded already? Was this what the traitorous Captain had wanted? It didn't make sense to  
the teenage Shinigami.

The world around him was so different now that he had no clue which way his house was. He really  
wanted to go there, to check on his family. Instead Ichigo wandered around the ruins of Karakura Town.

Half the town no longer existed, instead a sandy wasteland. The other half of the town was in such ruin  
that it would be incredibly hard to search through the remaining streets, buildings having toppled over  
on top of each other. To add to Ichigo's annoyance, he was still in his Shinigami form, and Kon was God-  
knows-where with his actual body.

Groaning, Ichigo shouldered his giant sword, Zangetsu, and continued looking for his home. "That idiot  
better be taking care of Yuzu and Karin," he muttered, thinking of his eccentric father.

* * *

Inu-Yasha exhaled in relief as Souta began coughing loudly, a wad of sand mixed with spittle landing on  
his lip and cheek. The young boy's eyes fluttered open and as he breathed weakly, he smiled up at Inu-  
Yasha.

Inu-Yasha sat back, and looked up, staring into the deep red sky. He'd saved Souta, but he hadn't found  
Kagome. He was happy and relieved yet also disappointed. Glancing at Souta, who was now laying on his  
side, breathing deeply, Inu-Yasha wished he had found Kagome, and immediately felt a wave of guilt and  
self-hate wash over him at the thought. It was wrong to think like that,  
wishing that he had found Kagome instead of Souta.

"Thank you . . ." Souta croaked, "For saving me, Inu-Yasha."

The half-demon looked at the young boy and frowned. "Keh, don't bother, I don't even know what I did  
to save you." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You know where Kagome is?"

Inu-Yasha immediately regretted asking.

Souta looked down, afraid to meet Inu-Yasha's gaze. "No, I don't know where she is," he answered, his  
voice cracking for a whole other reason than the small bit of sand still in his throat.

Standing, Inu-Yasha brushed the dust off his pants and reached out a hand to Souta. "Let's go find her."

Souta hesitated for only a second before grabbing the proffered hand. He was lifted off the ground  
easily and deposited onto Inu-Yasha's back.

"Hold on tight," the half-demon ordered before sniffing the air and sprinting away.

* * *

Akane strummed her fingers on one of the many tables within the school library, scratching her leg  
anxiously, and her patience having waned to near nothing fifteen minutes after Ranma had left. There  
was still no sign of Nabiki, and she was stuck in the school library with some of her least favorable  
people, one of whom, Kuno, she had already knocked unconscious for trying to 'comfort' her in her time  
of need.

She glanced over at the teachers, who had grouped together and had been in a discussion for the past  
twenty minutes or so. Nothing was getting accomplished. Standing up, she savored the sound of her  
chair screeching loudly as it slid back against the floor. The teachers and some of the students were  
looking at her now.

'Good,' she thought, and she stalked over to assembled adults, and child-adult.

"Can we help you, Tendo-san?" one of the teachers asked.

"I want to go outside. I need to find my sister," Akane replied firmly.

"I'm sorry, Tendo-san, but we can't allow that at this time," Hinako-chan said. "If we let you go out,  
others will want to go out as well, and we have no idea where those purple monsters have gone."

"Then what if you come with me? We could go out there together and look for people, and grab some  
food or other supplies?" Akane persisted, clenching her fists at her side.

The teachers glanced at one another.

"I'll go with her." Ukyou stepped up beside Akane and offered her a slight smile. "We can travel by  
rooftops if we have to."

"There might still be survivors out there. We can find them and bring them here!" Akane added  
forcefully.

Hinako-chan nodded. "Alright, I'll go with you two then, but we have to make this quick! I don't want  
any dillydallying."

The child-teacher hopped off the desk and walked up to the two girls. "And we stick together, no  
wandering off. You understand?"

Akane and Ukyou nodded.

"Alright, then lets hurry," Hinako-chan ordered and the three dashed out of library.

* * *

Ranma exhaled lightly as he jogged across the sandy dunes. He glanced at the white ball in the sky,  
frowning as he noticed it was growing dimmer. What that meant, he wasn't sure. Was the ball dying? If  
it was, what would happen when it died? Would it regain the brightness it had lost over time? There  
were so many questions about everything that he found himself constantly trying to fight off headaches  
from thinking too much.

His arm wasn't helping either. It was pulsing steadily now, unlike before, having found its rhythm in its  
new surroundings. He had traveled about two miles from Nerima in the fifteen minutes since leaving the  
Furinkan. He found that even though the sand slowed him, he was still keeping up a fast running pace.

It had been a quiet trip so far, something Ranma was very unaccustomed to. It was beginning to unnerve  
him. Something was going to happen; he could feel it through his left arm and its sudden pulse increase.

He skidded to an abrupt stop, kicking up dust and sand. Sliding the backpack off his shoulder, he let it  
drop unceremoniously to the ground. The lines on his arm flashed for a moment.

It was closing in.

* * *

Ryu Kumon grunted as he struggled through the wasteland. He was, with difficulty, getting used to  
walking on the sand, but it was still slowing him down more than he'd like. He was heading in the  
direction of what looked like the remains of a city; which one, he didn't know. The city ruins were at  
least another three miles away, he was already getting worn out, and it seemed as if the new sun was  
slowly growing dimmer.

"First, I'll pick up some food, some water. . ." he mumbled to himself. "Then some camping supplies."

His foot caught the lip of a rock and his tripped, stumbling forward, but not falling. Regaining his  
balance, Ryu was happy to see that the ground was slowly becoming hard dirt. It would be much easier  
to travel on the harder ground.

"What else could I use? Huh . . . maybe. . ." A rare smile plastered itself across his oft miserable face.  
With his current thought in mind, Ryu quickly picked up his pace, grinning as he did.

Behind him, the rock lip he had tripped over shifted slightly, rising from the ground. Rocky fingers slowly  
emerged.

* * *

Tenchi faltered as he stepped onto what remained of a concrete street. The town, or rather remaining  
part of the town, he had arrived at was lifeless, even though a number of maybe twenty houses still  
stood. There were no living or dead people that he could visibly see, and most of the houses looked  
ready to collapse, otherwise it looked like it would have been a very nice neighborhood.

He licked his lips anyway, thinking of food and water. Moving down the street a little, he scanned the  
houses front windows, looking for any sign of life. "Hello? HELLO? Is anyone here?" he shouted.

Sighing, Tenchi strode toward one of the houses, stepping into the front yard. "Hello! Anyone?"

No one replied.

He shrugged and entered through the houses front, its door having fallen off its hinges.

In the house across the street, four bright yellow eyes opened. "Food . . ." it growled.

"Flesh . . ." another beastly voice added.

* * *

Akane, Ukyou, and Hinako-chan peered through one of the school's first floor windows, scanning the  
ground. Seeing nothing, they quickly climbed through into the schools front yard. Quickly they sped  
toward the front gate and to the streets outside the school walls.

Hinako-chan glanced at Akane and Ukyou. "Ok, now we have to stick together. If any of those things  
appear, we head back to the school. Understand?"

Ukyou nodded, while Akane stared down the street, looking anxious. "You guys?"

Hinako-chan and Ukyou turned to her.

"I'm sorry," Akane muttered before taking off down the street at a full sprint.

"Tendo-san!" Hinako-chan shouted, surprised by her students sudden departure.

"I'll get her." Ukyou started to follow.

"No!"

Ukyou turned to Hinako-chan, surprised. "Why? We can't just let her run off by herself!"

Shaking her head, Hinako-chan looked on after Akane's diminishing figure. "We didn't come out here to  
just protect her. We came out here to get food and look for survivors. Tendo-san can take care of  
herself."

"If you think so," Ukyou mumbled, unconvinced, before whispering to herself, "You idiot . . . Ranma  
would be pissed if he saw you do this."

"Come on, let's start by heading for the supermarket."

Ukyou nodded, her long hair bobbing behind her. She tightened her spatula belt and the two took off,  
speeding down the street in a different direction than Akane.

Akane was running as fast as she could, the muscles in her legs starting to burn. She had stumbled a  
couple of times as her legs ran faster than they could move. Her home was only a little further  
away.

She felt guilty for ditching Hinako-chan and Ukyou like she had, but the thought of her family had been  
weighing heavily on her mind ever since the Red Wave had hit. Her decision had been made even before  
they left the school.

Her racing heart froze as she reached her street, seeing every devastated house. Ice seemed to be  
flowing through her veins, and her stomach was suddenly gone. She walked the rest of the way,  
stopping in front of what was once her home, the place she was born and raised, gone, now rubble.

"Dad?" she called out weakly, noticing half of the 'Welcome' sign lying discarded at her feet. "Kasumi!  
Nabiki!"

She suddenly felt like she was drowning, her lungs full of water. No breath escaped her lips, and she  
dropped to her knees, trying desperately to inhale. Her body wouldn't allow it and her fingers clutched  
at her chest, vainly trying to make her lungs work again.

"Akane?"

And then they worked, and air entered her body, her brain functioning once again. Slim arms quickly  
wrapped around her body and she found herself tightly hugged from behind. She grasped the arms  
around her, using them to steady herself.

"Nabiki?" she pleaded.

Akane felt person behind her nod, and she quickly turned around to face her sister, wrapping her arms  
around her. "Stupid, why'd you run off alone like that?"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, her eyes bloodshot, and tired. She had clearly been crying. "Me? What about  
you? You came here alone as well?"

"That's because I came looking for you!" Akane retorted angrily, but smiled none the less. "What about  
Kasumi and dad? Did you see Ranma?"

Nabiki shook her head, staring hard at the ground. "No, I can't find them. . ."

"Ranma didn't come here?"

"I don't know; I only got here a couple minutes ago. I was over by the dojo when I heard you," Nabiki  
explained.

"Did Ranma come here?" Akane asked herself slowly, looking over the wreckage of her home.

Nabiki placed her hand on Akane's shoulder, shaking her from her thoughts. "We can't stay here, sis.  
There's nothing here for us now."

Akane swallowed thickly and nodded, glancing toward the dojo's remains. "But what about-"

"The most we can hope for is that they're alive and somewhere else," Nabiki cut-in. They wouldn't give  
up the hope that their family was still alive somewhere.

"Come on, we should go find Ukyou and Hina-chan-sensei," Akane stated forcefully, purposefully looking  
away from the Tendo home. 'Don't look back, don't look back, don't look back.'

* * *

Hikaru screamed. She didn't know which way was north and thus wouldn't be able to find her other  
brothers; her living brothers. Tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes, so she exhaled deeply,  
trying to calm herself.

"What's the matter child?" a voice asked kindly.

Hikaru turned and looked at the soul of an elderly lady. "I'm lost," she moaned. "I don't know which way  
North is!"

The soul of the elderly lady looked around, taking in their surroundings. "I saw a standing city  
somewhere in that direction," she replied, pointing off to the west.

Hikaru looked in the direction of the souls pointing finger. "Are you sure?"

The old woman's soul nodded. "Positive," she replied. "Hurry along, child. It's not safe out here."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Hikaru exclaimed and took off running. 'I have to get to the city!' she thought  
as she glanced at the slowly fading sun.

* * *

Ukyou exhaled, wiping a thin line a sweat from her forehead. She and Hinako-chan had traveled to the  
rubble of Nerima's biggest market. Once there they had filled a shopping cart full of food, water,  
batteries and other important necessities. She had also taken possession of a lost backpack and filled it  
more assorted things.

At the store they had found two other survivors, a recently married couple that had been stocking up on  
supplies as well. The four had gotten together and now with three shopping carts, Hinako-chan riding in  
the children seat, rolled quickly toward another part of Nerima.

The okonomiyaki chef blinked upon seeing a large sign, lying on top of a pile of wood. Her lips curved  
into a frown.

"Neko Hanten . . ." she muttered.

Hinako-chan pouted as she stared at the rubble.

"We probably could've used their help," Ukyou grumbled, suddenly annoyed.

There was a shift and a part of the debris fell.

Ukyou tensed, grabbing two small spatulas from her belt.

The pile shifted again and fell to the side completely, revealing a short, gnarly staff. An even shorter,  
haggard woman clutched to it desperately, her face covered in blood.

"Cologne-san!" Ukyou leapt over to the older woman and hurriedly reached down to help steady the  
elder Amazon.

Cologne smiled wearily at Ukyou. "For once, I'd say it's good to see you, child."

Ukyou's eye twitched. "Gee, thanks."

"Cologne-saaaaaaaan!" Hinako-chan squealed, waving her arms excitedly.

The married coupled remained quiet, unsure of what to do or say.

"Come on, Cologne-san," Ukyou commanded and gingerly picked up the small woman. She walked over  
to one of the shopping carts and gently laid Cologne down in one.

Cologne mumbled something.

Ukyou leaned in close. "What?" she said loudly.

Cologne's staff hit Ukyou's forehead. "I'm not deaf! I asked 'how many'!"

Ukyou rubbed her head, wincing. "Lots of us at the school."

"Son-in-law?"

"Yeah, he's alive . . . but he ran off about an hour ago. He's gone to look for any cities that may still be  
intact. Nerima's a wasteland, mostly. We can't stay here long."

Cologne smiled tiredly, closing her eyes. "Smart boy."

"Ukyou! Hina-chan-sensei!"

The group turned, seeing Akane and Nabiki racing toward them. A couple other people followed behind.

Ukyou blinked, surprised by their sudden appearance, but glad to see they were okay.

Akane stopped beside the okonomiyaki chef, breathing lightly. "We came here to look for any survivors.  
Good luck in finding you guys here."

Ukyou nodded. "You got that right, sugar," she replied then glared. "You've got some nerve, running off  
like you did."

Akane had the decency to look sheepish.

"No time for that now." Nabiki approached with a group of five others behind her. She looked at  
Cologne. "Where are Shampoo and Mousse?"

Cologne shook her head, frowning. "I don't know, child."

Ukyou glared off to the side, annoyed again. Glancing at the five people behind Nabiki, she suddenly  
smiled. "Dr. Tofu!"

Said Doctor smiled weakly, slowly waving his hand. His left arm was wrapped in a makeshift sling,  
apparently broken. The sling was also covered in blood, whose blood, Ukyou didn't know.

He walked over to the group, and looked down at Cologne. "I'll check on you when we get back to the  
school, Cologne-san."

"Thank you, that would be nice," she replied, smiling tiredly. She closed her eyes and was suddenly  
asleep.

"Alright, we should get to the school," Nabiki stated. "It's getting darker."

The group all glanced at the white sun, observing its dimming shine. As one, they began tracking back  
toward the high school. They moved slower than they would have liked, but not as fast as Akane or  
Ukyou, who were both pushing a shopping cart.

Akane smiled as she saw the front gates of Furinkan High before her right leg suddenly stung with pain.  
She stumbled, falling forward, the shopping cart rolling away from her.

Nabiki was at her side in an instant, Dr. Tofu hurrying behind her.

"Akane, are you alright!"

Akane nodded quickly, though her leg was burning in pain. She looked around, wondering what had hit  
her and painfully clutched at the spot where it hurt. "I'm fine. Don't worry." She pushed herself to her  
feet. "We have to hurry though."

"Too late," Hinako-chan muttered.

Akane and Nabiki looked around, noticing for the first time a large mass of purple wraiths, slowly  
surrounding them. The hollow mouths opened, and they all moaned a long, loud and hideous sound. It  
sent shivers down their spines and Goosebumps over their skin.

Akane felt herself growing annoyed. The day just continued to get worse. She wanted to scream and  
pound her concrete blocks to let out her frustration.

The round demons moaned again.

Somewhere in the back of Akane's mind, she knew this was all Ranma's fault.

* * *

Ryu Kumon was not a man of unfathomable faith. In fact, most that knew him, which was very few,  
would say that he had no faith at all. When asked if this were true, Ryu would laughed, explain that he  
was atheist, and continue on to rant about how nothing could make him believe in God, Gods, demons,  
superstitions, or anything else as such. He had never seen any of them before, so he had no reason to  
believe.

Today, he was considering changing his mind about all that. Yelling in anger, confusion, and just a bit of  
fear, he was effectively shut up when his body slammed face first into the ground. The only thing that  
saved him from a painful death was his years of martial arts training.

The ground around his body exploded upward from the impact. Quickly, Ryu dug his fingers into the dirt  
and kicked upward, trying to free his trapped leg.

The creature made of pure rock grunted as the palm of its hand cracked from the blow. It had risen from  
below and caught Ryu by surprise, grabbing the teenager's leg before swinging him around like a club.

It was not something Ryu had been expecting, especially not a monster made of pure rock. He dropped  
from the creatures grasp and hastily rolled away. Pushing himself back to his feet, Ryu took in the  
creature made of rock.

The hulking mass was lumbering back at him, quickly gaining speed. It was dusty brown, over twelve  
feet tall, and suddenly looked very pissed, which was strange since it didn't have much of a face. Stony  
hands stretched out for him, ready to grab.

Annoyed, Ryu easily leapt over the arms and kicked down at the demons flat head. It cracked viciously  
and was shoved down into its chest. Ryu landed lightly as the creature stumbled and fell onto its front.

"Stupid," Ryu muttered, but was grinning arrogantly. "Got no brain in that rock head of yours, do you?"

The rock demon half groaned, half roared as it rose to its full height.

Ryu chuckled. "I'm not supposed to use this, but . . . the likelihood of Saotome still being alive is slim to  
none, so I don't think he'll mind."

Jumping up, Ryu threw his arms back. "Kijin Raishü Dan!"

* * *

Tenchi grimaced at the sight that awaited him inside the empty house. Splatters of blood were  
everywhere. Someone had been alive here, but clearly not any more. He walked gingerly through the  
house, avoiding the overturned furniture, and made his way into the kitchen.

There was more blood in here, the white refrigerator stained red, and three bowls of soggy cereal  
abandoned on the table. The floors were also covered, a large streak of blood leading out to the  
backyard.

He chose not to go that way, afraid of what he would see. Instead, he slowly made his way over to the  
fridge and opened it. Peering inside, he quickly pulled out a bottle of water, downing half its contents,  
letting plenty run over his hands and down his shirt.

Stopping, Tenchi rested his head against the top of the appliance and sighed heavily. He ran his wet  
finger through his hair, cooling his forehead. As he closed his eyes, Tenchi cursed softly under his breath.

Something with a vicious presence was close and getting closer.

Grasping the hilt of his Tenchi-ken, he lifted it to his chest, but didn't turn from his rested position. A low  
growl sounded from behind him, followed immediately by another.

Clutching the top of the refrigerator with his free hand, Tenchi pulled himself up and off the floor, just in  
time to avoid the charging beast. It slammed violently into the open fridge, crushing the appliance and  
spilling its contents. Tenchi pushed off, falling onto the kitchen table, the cereal bowls crashing to the  
floor.

The Tenchi-ken activated, and he rolled off of the table, landing in a crouch. He looked up at the back of  
a dog, at least seven feet long, turning toward him. His breath quickened as he took in the dog's two  
heads.

"A quick human," the left head growled, baring its sharp, bloody fangs.

"Yes . . . faster than the others," the right head added, panting lightly.

Tenchi slowly backed away, confused at the sight of such a creature. "Wh-what are you?"

"We are Orthrus . . ." the right head replied, licking its nose.

"And you are dead!" the left roared before the two-headed dog leapt once more in attack.

Tenchi jumped away, swinging his Tenchi-ken upward. He was surprised when Orthrus dug its back paws  
into the floor, halting its forward progress, and making his blade miss. Gritting his teeth, Tenchi rushed  
for the backyard as Orthrus sprung at him.

His foot slipped on the streak of blood, and he fell onto his chest, sliding across the floor. Orthrus, not  
compensating for Tenchi's sudden fall, flew over him, crashing into a cabinet filled with china plates.  
Tenchi crawled frantically for the backyard, soaking his hands in blood as Orthrus reoriented itself  
behind him.

Grabbing onto the sliding door, Tenchi pulled himself through, slipping unceremoniously into the  
backyard. He turned and slammed the glass door shut just as Orthrus charged again. The two-headed  
dog burst through the door, glass exploding outward, and Tenchi had to push off with his legs to avoid  
being crushed.

He slashed across his body, forcing the massive dog to back off momentarily. Climbing to his knees,  
Tenchi held his Tenchi-ken before him in a guarded position.

The two-headed dog slowly began circling, looking to attack his prey's side.

Tenchi followed Orthrus with his eyes, slowly rising to his feet. The backyard was as abhorrent as the  
kitchen, though surprisingly, the surrounding fence was still intact. Off to the side an entire play set was  
toppled over.

He pictured the swings upright, Sasami on them, laughing.

Fixing the monster with a hard glare, Tenchi's blood soaked hands raised the Tenchi-ken into an  
offensive position. "I'm going to kill you for what you've done here."

The two heads chucked. "We enjoy it when they fight back."

The blade of the Tenchi-ken shone brighter. "Then chew on this!"

Orthrus pounced, both its mouths opening, and Tenchi swore he could see right down into the pit of its  
stomach.

* * *

Ranma landed in a roll, sand clouds rising around him. A piercing cry stung his ears and he quickly  
pushed up, hopping over the strange creature as it swooped beneath him. He landed on his hands and  
knees, turning his eyes skyward.

The multicolored bird, if he could call it that, tore through the sky, its bonelike body curving to dive upon  
him again. A long, sharp tail uncurled and pointed at him as it began its descent.

"What the hell!" Ranma jumped to the side again, avoiding its tail which drove deep into the ground.

"Zen!" the bird cried and soared skyward again, beating its colorful yet skeletal wings.

"Try that again!" Ranma shouted, his left arm flaring brightly. A small ball of blue ki built up in his palm.

"Zen!" The bird flapped its wings and dozens of thin needles rained down at him.

Ranma dove to the side, ki still in the palm of his hand, managing not to become a human pin cushion.  
The needles stabbed the earth, raising a small cloud of sand in their wake.

"Zen!" Again the bird swooped, tail pointed, into the cloud of sand, bursting out the other side.

Slowly the cloud cleared, revealing Ranma, still clutching the small ball of ki in his left hand. A thin rip  
appeared in his pants near his lower thigh, a small scratch started bleeding.

Ranma grit his teeth, grimacing and clutched at his cut leg. His knee buckled and his vision blurred  
slightly before returning to normal. He glanced up at the Zen, which was making another round.

"Poison."

* * *

The two blades of the Kijin Raishu Dan burst from his arms, slicing at the rock creature. The sharp wind  
tore through its body, first cutting off its hand, then its other arm at the elbow.

Ryu landed in a crouch, watching as the demon lurched forward, off balance, its left hand gone and right  
arm smoothly severed at the elbow. Another groaning roar escaped the creature's rock mouth and it  
rushed at Ryu, its arms swinging loosely at its sides.

"Your rock body is weak against my attacks." Ryu glared confidently. "You attacked the wrong guy."

As it charged, it swung its shoulder, its left arm following through with the motion. Ryu calmly hopped  
onto the swinging arm, before jumping above the demon. He threw his arms back once again.

"Kijin Raishu Dan!"

The first blade slammed into the creature's right shoulder, the second into the top of its flat head.

He touched down softly and turned to face the rock demon's back. It shuddered momentarily and  
started to turn again. Then the rest of its right arm fell off. A second later, a large crack spread down its  
center and the creature fell forward, shattering as it hit the ground.

Ryu frowned at his crumbled opponent. "Pathetic."

Walking over to the remains, Ryu stepped on what was left of its head, crushing it under his boot.

* * *

The empty street proved a surreal, peaceful sight. An explosion interrupted that, a fence erupting  
outward, a body with it.

Tenchi, surrounded by pieces of fence, tumbled through the air, crashing wildly onto the neighborhood  
street. Tenchi-ken gripped tightly in his hand, the teenager slid to a stop on his elbow, tearing it. He rose  
to his feet, fresh blood running down his arm, his blade at his side.

Orthrus crashed through the rest of the fence, knocking it over, its mouths snapping in annoyance. Its  
two heads stared at him hungrily, and it rushed forward. Jumping up in the middle of its run, Orthrus'  
massive frame fell toward him.

Tenchi dove to the side as it landed, the ground crushing under its paws. He swiped at the beast, nicking  
its left head's cheek.

Shaking its heads furiously, Orthrus turned its enraged gaze to Tenchi. Its heads snarled, baring their  
teeth. "You're the first human I've had to use this on."

Orthrus opened its left mouth, breathing a foul stench into the air. Its right mouth open and Tenchi eyes  
caught a flash of red deep in its throat moments before a large blast of fire enveloped the area.

Tenchi burst out of the flames, covering his face and chest with his arms, his clothes singed badly. He  
shook his head, wincing at the light burns on his arms. Coughing and squinting, he raised the Tenchi-ken.  
His eyes stung from the flame and smoke.

Orthrus appeared, one of its front paws slamming into his chest.

Tenchi flew back, crying out in pain. When the paw had connected, Orthrus' nails had torn across his  
shirt. Landing on his back, he covered his chest with his free hand, gasping, his breath coming short.

The two-headed dog hollered in rage and turned in full sprint toward its prey. Its paws landed hard as it  
ran, cracking the street with every stride. Orthrus leapt for Tenchi again, both mouths gaping.

Reacting on instinct, Tenchi raised his sword and slashed down. It connected with Orthrus, in-between  
its two heads. The Tenchi-ken pushed through the beast's center, cleaving it in half.

He screamed and closed his eyes as he was showered with blood, the two halves of Orthrus falling on  
separate sides of him. Slowly he looked, and his grip on his sword lessened as he felt Orthrus' blood drip  
down over his face, arms and hands. As it was soaking through his shirt and pants, thick bile was rising in  
his throat.

The Tenchi-ken receded back into the hilt before Tenchi bent over and hurled, only the water he had  
just drank coming out. His fingers went limp and his deactivated weapon fell, clanking on the bloody  
street. Eyes drooping, Tenchi dropped to his knees, then onto his chest, passing out in-between Orthrus'  
remains.

* * *

Ranma covered his eyes with his right hand, closing them hard to force away the strengthening  
dizziness. His left hand relaxed, the ball of ki fading away.

The Zen dove toward him, its body making a loud screech as it approached.

"This can't . . . I can't . . ."

The screech grew louder and Ranma opened his eyes, springing to the side. His left arm lashed out,  
grabbing the Zen's tail as it flew past. Planting his foot on the birds back, he drove it into the sand,  
pinning it.

"I can't die here!" he screamed and brutally tore the tail from the birds back, angrily tossing it aside. His  
vision blurred again and his legs wobbled beneath him.

The Zen pumped its wings, forcing itself free, shrieking in fury. It flew upward and turned on.

"Zen!"

Needles poured like rain and Ranma leapt aside, landing on his knees in a slide. His left hand once again  
filled with ki, larger this time, his arm pulsing brighter as well. Pushing off with his legs and right arm,  
Ranma launched himself into the air, left arm outstretched.

The Zen halted in surprised, and the pause was enough for Ranma to reach it. He yelled as he drove the  
ball of ki into its center. The colorful bird screeched loudly before its body burst into pieces.

Ranma fell to the ground, bits of the Zen raining down around him. The pulsing in his left arm slowly  
calmed, along with his breathing. At the same time his vision grew worse and his legs buckled.

"I can't die here," he muttered to himself, determined not to let the poison overwhelm him. He stepped  
forward, and nearly fell. Clutching his fists, Ranma screamed in pure rage, looking skyward.

"I can't. . . I can't. . ." He stepped forward again, unstable. "I can't. . ."

The world shifted sideways and his balance was suddenly lost. The ground was a blur, and suddenly,  
though darkening, the white sun felt unbearably hot.

"I can't . . . I can't . . . not here . . ." His hands and feet felt numb. "Not here . . ."

His left arm pulsed slower than ever, and his eyes rolled up into his head. The ground rose at him, or so  
it seemed, and he suddenly found himself lying face first in sand. Eyelids fluttering, Ranma dug his  
fingers into the dirt, trying to drag himself forward.

"Not . . . like . . . this . . ." he breathed before his eyes closed completely.

* * *

Akane ground her teeth as Nabiki clutched her shoulders tight. The school was a number of yards away,  
and they were completely surrounded. She had seen what had happened earlier, so she knew what the  
purple spheres could do to them. Her eyes narrowed into a glare, a red aura slowly appearing around  
her.

The group huddled closer, Cologne still sleeping, and Hinako-chan clutching Dr. Tofu's good arm in her  
tiny hands. Ukyou gripped her giant spatula nervously, face flushed. She brandished it, trying to make  
the wraiths back away.

The purple demons bundled together, bumping into one another as they planned their attack. Their  
mouths opened and like before they slowly backed away. Hollow eyes shook wildly and shrunk in size.

"They're . . . leaving?" Nabiki wondered aloud, glancing at the others in the group. "Why?"

Akane's glare remained, her aura growing brighter. "Monsters!" she spat.

Ukyou, who had turned to protect the group's back, swung her spatula at the retreating mass. "I don't  
know, and I don't care, sugar, but we might be able to get to the school."

"Right, let's start moving toward the school," Dr. Tofu said, and as one, the group slowly moved, pulling  
the shopping carts with them. "Will we be safe in there?"

"They didn't attack us when we were in there before," Ukyou explained, and the group slowly continued  
on.

The wraiths groaned, louder than before, the sound echoing through everyone's bones. Apparently  
angry, the purple demons started floating away, leaving the group free to move.

"Hurry!" Dr. Tofu shouted and the group rushed toward the school.

The shopping cart carrying Hinako-chan tipped over, and she spilled out, along with its contents. The  
group quickly lifted the cart and threw everything back in, including a surprised Hinako- chan. They  
made their way to the window they had used to exit the school, and tossed the contents of the shopping  
carts through it.

The married couple climbed through first, followed by Nabiki and Ukyou. Akane helped Dr. Tofu  
through, before picking up and handing Cologne, then Hinako-chan through to Ukyou and Nabiki.

With one last look back, she saw the giant mass of floating demons approaching once more. They  
swarmed into the schoolyard, mouths gaping.

'I'll crush you all,' Akane thought, glaring.

"Come on, Akane!" Nabiki exclaimed urgently.

Akane shook her head and jumped through the open window, bowling into Nabiki's stomach, knocking  
her sister to the floor. She numbly heard the window being slammed shut behind her.

XXXXXXXXX

Ryouga growled in annoyance. He was lost, and it was obviously Ranma's fault as the pigtailed idiot had  
said something like this was going to happen. If Ranma hadn't interfered in his fight with Happosai, he  
could have stopped the old pervert, thus preventing what had happened and winning Akane's love as  
well.

Ryouga clenched his fist, baring his canines. "When I find you, Ranma, I'm going to kill you. I WILL send  
you to hell."

* * *

The rough feeling of sand dragging across his face forced Ranma into consciousness. His eyes opened  
weakly, and he smacked his lips, his mouth parched. The dragging didn't stop and he suddenly became  
aware of the shackles around his wrists.

Turning his head, becoming more aware of his surroundings, Ranma found his arms pulled above his  
head, linked together by the shackles, connected to a long chain. He was being dragged across the  
ground by a large red man. The man wore animal fur around his waist and in his other hand he  
shouldered a large club.

The sky had darkened, white sun almost all black. He glanced to the side, noticing another man,  
appearing the same as the other. This one turned to him, revealing a small horn in the middle of his  
forehead, and pitch black eyes. The second red man grinned, revealing long canines.

"Looks like sleepyhead's up," the horned demon commented.

The demon dragging him stopped and turned. He was a mirror image of the first demon except for the  
two horns that adorned his head and a small one jutting out of his chin. The two horned demon snorted.  
"Good, he can walk on his own now."

The two horned demon approached him and yanked on the chains, pulling Ranma to his feet. He  
wobbled slightly, still unsteady from the poison running through his system.

Heavy eyelids blinked. "I'm . . . alive?" he asked.

"Don't sound so happy." The one horned demon pulled on a chain he was holding. "You'll wish you were  
dead soon enough."

Ranma looked back to where the one horned demon's chain led, finding a young girl, her blue haired  
tied into two long pigtails. She looked at him with large, round pink eyes. He figured she was maybe nine  
years old.

He breathed heavily, and his arm began pulsing again. Raising his chained hands, he rubbed his tired  
eyes before wiping the sand and dirt from his cheek. They were jerked away from his face, and he  
stumbled forward, nearly falling to his knees. The two demons started off again, turning their backs to  
their prisoners.

Ranma glared viciously at them. "Where're you takin' us?" he demanded.

The two-horned demon looked back at him and snorted. "You don't need to know, human," he sneered  
and turned away.

"When I get my strength back," Ranma muttered under his breath. He eyed the girl walking beside him.

She was walking with her head down, feet dragging in the sand like his face had been. She looked as  
exhausted as he felt. Her eyes suddenly met his, looking trapped, tired, hopeless. He vaguely saw two  
triangles on her forehead.

Ranma smiled down at her, not liking the hopelessness saw in her face. "I'm Ranma Saotome," he  
whispered and was nearly pulled off his feet by his chains.

The girl weakly smiled back. "I'm Sasami Jurai."

Glancing at their captors, Ranma exhaled deeply. "Well, Sasami, don't you worry."

She watched him, now curious.

"When the poison in my body runs its course, I'll be able to break these chains and beat these guys." He  
smiled grimly. "It'll be no challenge."

Sasami's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically, blue pigtails flapping. "You can't, Saotome-  
san!" she whispered urgently, her hands wringing together. "They'll kill you!"

Ranma shook his head, ignoring her warning. "Just call me Ranma, ok?"

Sasami nodded meekly. "O-ok, Ranma-san."

He rolled his eyes. "How old are you, Sasami?"

"I'm . . ." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm eight."

"You always address people so formally?"

"I . . . yes." She nodded, before looking around at the darkening landscape.

Ranma noticed, looking over the girl kindly. She was only eight and a prisoner, chained and forced to  
walk against her will for how long, he did not know. She appeared ready to collapse. "You afraid of the  
dark?"

Sasami bit her lip softly, glancing up at dimming white sun. Night in the new world was different, as if  
there was a full moon, illuminating the land a pale red. Her eyes flickered as she recalled the constant  
nightmares of her own death. "Yes . . ." she whispered, staring pointedly at the ground.

Ranma chuckled, and Sasami turned her attention back to the pigtailed boy, pouting. "Why're you  
laughing?"

Grinning, Ranma looked to the dark sun. "Sorry, it's just . . . well, you don't have to be afraid, Sasami."  
He turned his gaze to the blue haired girl as they trudged on, side-by-side. His left arm pulsed and shone  
the same color as her hair.

She stared back at him with tired, yet questioning eyes.

He turned his attention to the two demons ahead of them. "It won't be dark for long."

* * *

Next Time: **Chapter 5 - On Trial**  
Ranma and Sasami are taken to Ikebukuro, the demons home, where Ranma must stand trial.  
Meanwhile, bad things are about to happen to two of the people back at the High School.

AN: Updated 5/9/11. Again, lots of corrections with some added and fixed things. Much better than it  
was before.

Don't worry, next chapter focuses mainly on Ranma, unlike this one. Not a whole lot has happened in  
the story so far time wise, but more incident wise. That should change a bit next chapter, hopefully. Like  
before, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad.

Tenchi Muyo was created by Masaki Kajishima.  
Magic Girl Rayearth is the property of Clamp  
Oh! My Goddess was created by Kosuke Fujishima  
Yu Yu Hakasho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi  
Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi  
Inu-Yasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi  
Bleach was created by Tite Kubo  
Love Hina was created by Ken Akamatsu

Oh, and as many have guessed: SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI III: NOCTURNE is what this story is based on. It's owned by Altus.

I obviously own none of these series, so this is my disclaimer for them.


	6. Chapter 5: On Trial

Ranma smiled down at her, not liking the hopelessness saw in her face. "I'm Ranma Saotome," he  
whispered and was nearly pulled off his feet by his chains.

The girl weakly smiled back. "I'm Sasami Jurai."

Glancing at their captors, Ranma exhaled deeply. "Well, Sasami, don't you worry."

She watched him, now curious.

"When the poison in my body runs its course, I'll be able to break these chains and beat these guys." He  
smiled grimly. "It'll be no challenge."

Sasami's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically, blue pigtails flapping. "You can't, Saotome-  
san!" she whispered urgently, her hands wringing together. "They'll kill you!"

Ranma shook his head, ignoring her warning. "Just call me Ranma, ok?"

Sasami nodded meekly. "O-ok, Ranma-san."

He rolled his eyes. "How old are you, Sasami?"

"I'm . . ." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm eight."

"You always address people so formally?"

"I . . . yes." She nodded, before looking around at the darkening landscape.

Ranma noticed, looking over the girl kindly. She was only eight and a prisoner, chained and forced to  
walk against her will for how long, he did not know. She appeared ready to collapse. "You afraid of the  
dark?"

Sasami bit her lip softly, glancing up at dimming white sun. Night in the new world was different, as if  
there was a full moon, illuminating the land a pale red. Her eyes flickered as she recalled the constant  
nightmares of her own death. "Yes . . ." she whispered, staring pointedly at the ground.

Ranma chuckled, and Sasami turned her attention back to the pigtailed boy, pouting. "Why're you  
laughing?"

Grinning, Ranma looked to the dark sun. "Sorry, it's just . . . well, you don't have to be afraid, Sasami."  
He turned his gaze to the blue haired girl as they trudged on, side-by-side. His left arm pulsed and shone  
the same color as her hair.

She stared back at him with tired, yet questioning eyes.

He turned his attention to the two demons ahead of them. "It won't be dark for long."

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any other animes that might appear in said fic at this junction . . . in  
time . . . right now.

"I always knew he was crazy, but this . . . my God, this was something else. . . I never imagined he was  
capable of something like this."  
- Akane Tendo

Demon's Candelabrum  
A Ranma ½ Crossover  
By Hawk

AN: Sorry this took forever to get out. It's long though, so the wait was hopefully worth it to those of you  
who've been waiting hah

Updated: 5/9/11

**Chapter 5 - On Trial**

* * *

Akane stared listlessly out of the second floor window, up at the blackened sun. The world outside was  
hued red, and the school yard was bustling with the purple wraiths. They moved to and fro, but never  
dared approach the school itself.

"He'll be back, don't worry."

Akane snorted. "Worried? About that idiot?" She crossed her arms and glared at the black sun.

Ukyou snorted in return. "Yeah, and I'm not worried about him either," she retorted sarcastically.

Sighing, Akane placed her forehead against the cool window and scratched her leg. "Do you . . . do you  
think . . ."

"Do I think what?" Ukyou glanced at Akane curiously.

The other girl tilted her head toward the sun.

Ukyou face turned grim and she shook her head. "I hope so. If it stays black like that . . ."

"It seems like there are more of them out there," Akane said, looking down at the surrounding murky  
violet monsters.

"Yeah, and there'll probably be more tomorrow."

They stood in silence for a minute, listening to the shallow moans coming from outside. Ukyou rubbed  
her temples to ward off a headache. "Let's go back to the library."

"I don't want to. Kuno's being weirder than usual. I'd rather just stay here."

"Stop being selfish, Akane!" Ukyou snapped abruptly. "You act like you're the only one that's lost  
someone! You ran off today leaving me and Hina-chan-sensei to get supplies alone!"

Akane gaped indignantly at the okonomiyaki chef.

"Everyone in that library has lost someone. Remember what Ranma-honey said?"

"'I'm a big dumb idiot'?" Akane mocked in a Ranma like voice.

Ukyou didn't laugh. "No, that's what you wish he'd say." She shook her head. "He said, 'We're all we've  
got, and if we don't take care of each other, then no one else will.'

"If you hole yourself up in here, Akane . . .," Ukyou paused, collecting her thoughts. "You have to let go  
of what's lost out there, Akane. Focus on what's still here, in this school. Stop thinking about just  
yourself; we're all dealing with the same damn problems."

Akane sighed out of her nose. "Are you done?"

Ukyou blinked, surprised by the response. "Yes." She turned and walked out of the classroom.

Turning, Akane glared out of the window into the school yard, scratching her leg in irritation.

* * *

"Ain't you gonna sleep?"

Ranma eyed the two-horned demon. "Why? So that when I do, you and your pal can kill and eat Sasami  
and me?"

The two demons burst into rough laughter, the one-horned toppling onto his side.

"Stupid, Hanyo! Why would we bother dragging you two this far just to eat you?" the one-horned  
demon exclaimed, slapping his knee and shaking his head.

"Yeah, that would've been nothing but a waste of time. Don't you think we would've eaten the little girl  
already?" the two-horned demon added. "Besides, our kind of demon doesn't like the taste of human  
flesh."

Ranma glanced down at Sasami, peacefully asleep, her head resting on his lap. He moved his shackled  
hands and gentled brushed the hair out of the young girls face.

He silently strained against his chains, hoping to crack them. Nothing happened though and he sighed in  
annoyance. While most of his body seemed to have cleaned out the poison, his arms were still weak,  
particularly his left. The poison was having a much stronger affect on his marked limb.

"Then what're you going to do with us?" he asked.

"You'll stand Trial," the two-horned demon replied, staring him hard in eyes.

"Trial? For what?"

Neither demon responded, ignoring him instead.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Ranma angrily whispered so not to wake Sasami.

"You better just shut up and go to sleep," the one-horned growled. "You've got quite a walk tomorrow."

Ranma looked up at the sky and black sun, relieved despite his predicament. "It'll turn white again?"

"It? It?" The two-horned demon looked at the one-horned. "Can you believe this guy, Boraa?"

The one-horned demon, whose name was Boraa, shook his head. "What do you expect from a Hanyo!"

Ranma glared. "What're you guys talking about? Why're you calling me a 'Hanyo'?"

"That sun you just called 'It' is Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess," the two-horned demon explained. "She'd  
burn you to ashes for such a comment."

"Ama . . . Amaterasu?" Ranma repeated, gazing up at the dark sun in slight awe. "No way . . ."

"She's sleeping right now, Hanyo," Boraa added. "She'll be back when she wakes up."

The two-horned demon snorted, looking Ranma over incredulously. "I wouldn't even call this guy a  
Hanyo."

Boraa laughed, slapping his knee. "Yeah, he's more of an Army, Naraa!"

"Hanyo? Army?" Ranma looked back and forth between the two red skinned demons.

"Yeah, you know, a half-demon?" Naraa replied simply. "But you're not really a half-demon are you?"

"You're more of an arm-demon!" Boraa exclaimed in amusement. "That's even more pathetic than a  
half-demon!"

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Demon?" He glanced as his weakened left arm.

"Don't tell me you didn't know?" Naraa was genuinely surprised. "How could you not know your arm is  
almost all a demon?"

Shaking his head ardently in disbelief, Ranma raised his shackled hands in front of his face, careful to  
avoid the still sleeping Sasami. "That's . . . impossible . . . I'm human!"

The two-horned Naraa and one-horned Boraa shared a glance. "Those markings on your arm are clearly  
demonic. You arm is blessed by a demon's being," Naraa explained coolly.

"Yeah, 'cept your demonic powers are pathetic!" Boraa shouted, once again bursting into an uproar of  
laughter.

Ranma exhaled heavily, shoulders slumping. "Impossible . . ."

"Not so," Naraa countered. "You may not be able to feel the demon in you, but it's there. The markings  
are familiar looking too, but I can't really place them. Were you trying to curse someone or using black  
magic to make yourself stronger?"

Ranma stared silently at his arm. It made sense, to his dismay. It explained his sudden swings of anger,  
as well as the constant delightful feeling it radiated whenever something bad happened.

"No, I wasn't. I want it gone, how can I get it out?" Ranma asked. His arm pulsed weakly in objection.

"That . . ." Naraa paused. "That I do not know. Except for perhaps cutting off your arm, but there's no  
telling if that'd remove the demon."

"Lord Gozu-Tenno may know a way, but you ain't never gonna meet him," Boraa added flippantly. "He  
hates weakness, and the demon in your arm is nothing but. Your Trial should be quick."

"Gozu-Tenno?" Ranma muttered.

'Isn't that the name of a God?' he thought, and glanced at the Sun, Amaterasu.

"You should sleep, human; you have a long day tomorrow."

"The name's Ranma," the pigtailed teen growled.

"For the time being, we'll call you what we wish, Army," Boraa retorted with a toothy grin.

A short breeze touched them all, and Sasami curled up closer to Ranma, a frightened expression on her  
sleeping face. He gently laid his shackled hands on her forehead, and her face twisted even more.  
Quickly, Ranma removed them and her face calmed, which led him to frown.

Glancing up at Naraa and Boraa, he saw them both lying down, attempting to sleep. He strained against  
his chains, trying again to break them. His demonic arm faltered still and the chains remained intact.

He clenched his fists and glared at his dim arm. It glowed lightly in response. Boraa was wrong about his  
arm, Ranma knew that. There was a lot more power in it than the two demons perceived it to be.  
Ranma briefly considered going for one of the demons clubs and using it against them, but didn't.

'I'll pass their stupid Trials then see Gozu-Tenno about gettin' you out of my arm,' Ranma thought,  
staring at his arm which suddenly was beating pleasantly. With that thought in mind, Ranma shut his  
eyes.

* * *

Kuno Tatewaki's dreams typically consisted of beautiful girls throwing themselves at his feet, specifically  
his redheaded Goddess and Akane Tendo. They were good dreams, and if ever there was a villain, he  
would fight them off with his mighty bokken, saving the day and damsels. And then the girls would  
throw themselves at him again, with more fever and gusto than before.

The dream he had this night was not so pleasant. It had started well enough, with both his redheaded  
Goddess and Akane running for his open embrace. The two girls stopped though, and his redheaded  
Goddess began fading, vanishing before his eyes. He cried out for her, but she was already gone.

He spun toward Akane, seeing her smiling still, and sighed in relief. She reached out for him when  
suddenly the earth below her cracked and a massive burst of flame engulfed her body. Her eyes  
widened and she cried out for the brief moment that she still existed.

Kuno dropped to his knees, shocked. From the ground a giant, flaming hand broke through, trapping his  
arms tightly in its grasp. He struggled against it, but to no avail. The flames covering the monstrous hand  
licked his face and legs, but they didn't burn him.

"Unleash me, vile hand!"

The hand instead started dragging him back towards the hole. Kuno braced his feet, hoping to stop the  
pull, but it made little difference. As the hand neared its place of origin, the fires burned stronger.

Kuno struggled still, never one to give up. "I will not . . . be defeated by callous the likes of you!"

The monstrous hand tightened its grip, squeezing the air out of Kuno. He gasped and woke with a start,  
sitting up violently. His breathing was ragged, and he stretched his arms and body to relish the sudden  
freedom of movement. Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, he then glanced around the  
library, studying the other sleeping occupants.

"Tatewaki-san, is everything alright?" a lone teacher asked. She had be chosen for first watch, to keep  
an eye on the outside and make sure that if the wraiths outside came in, they would all be warned.

"Bad dream." Kuno rose to his feet and glanced at the teacher. "I do not think I will be slumbering any  
longer this night. I will take the watch."

The teacher nodded. "Hinako-sensei was supposed to take watch after me. If you get tired, wake her  
and she'll take over for you."

Kuno nodded, scratching the back of his right hand. "Thank you, I will do that."

Smiling tiredly, the teacher wandered off, disappearing into the back of the library.

Alone, Kuno stared listlessly out of the window he had been sleeping next to. There were slightly less  
wraiths outside than earlier. He turned and carefully made his way out of the room, unaware of another  
set of eyes watching him.

* * *

Kocho Kuno awoke with a start, still gagged and bound inside his office. His eyes widened when he  
noticed that he was not alone, and he tried pleading for freedom. Blinking drowsily, he realized who the  
person was, and smiled against his gag.

* * *

Kuno pushed open the front doors to the school, having removed the desks barricading it. As he stepped  
outside, the remaining wraiths approached, mouths gaping. He raised his bokken at them, and they  
backed away.

"You fear my might, do you?" he declared to the surrounding demons.

The wraiths moaned in response.

"There is not here for you, nor I," Kuno stated, his thoughts drifting to his redhead Goddess fading away,  
and Akane's flame engulfed form.

He stepped forward, and the wraiths made way, allowing him to pass. Unchecked, Kuno disappeared  
down the destroyed streets of Nerima.

* * *

Ranma was pulled to consciousness, quite literally. He tumbled forward, onto his chest, Sasami falling  
off his lap as he did so. Looking up in annoyance, Ranma muttered a few choice words under his breath  
as Naraa yanked on his chains a second time.

"Alright, stop!" he shouted, tugging back. The sun, Amaterasu, was beginning to brighten.

"What happened?" Sasami mumbled, reaching up to rub her head.

"It's time to walk," Boraa stated, picking Sasami up off the ground with casual ease and planting her on  
her feet.

"I'm hungry," she whispered tiredly.

"No food for you, human." Boraa pushed her forward.

Sasami stumbled and fell to her knees, weary and weak. Her hunger was clearly affecting her.

Ranma glared hard at the one-horned demon, and he rose to his feet. "Don't touch her."

"Or you'll do what, Army?" Boraa taunted boldly.

Naraa stood silently, watching the exchange, casually taking note of Ranma's demonic arm and how it  
pulsed.

Ranma looked up into Boraa's eyes, fists clenching.

"Well?"

"Boraa, that's enough," Naraa ordered.

"But, brother-!"

"No more. Now we walk." Naraa glanced toward Ranma, who was watching at the two-horned demon in  
confusion. He gave Ranma a incredulous look. "You heard me. Walk."

"Sasami needs food. When was the last time she ate?"

Naraa eyed the girl. "Is that her name? She'll get none," he stated and turned away from Ranma. "She  
isn't worthy of food."

Sasami slowly pushed herself to her feet, her legs wobbling beneath her.

"Give her food or I'll kill you both."

Boraa toppled over, cracking up as Naraa raised an eyebrow. "This guy's hilarious! Kill us?"

"We don't have any human food," Naraa explained coolly, attempting to calm the angered Ranma.

"Where's my backpack? I had food in that!" Ranma demanded.

"I oughta crush your head for talking back to us like this," Boraa snarled, suddenly enraged by Ranma's  
gall.

"But you won't," Naraa concluded. "Fetch his human pack, Boraa."

"But-!"

"Just do it." Naraa grinned at Ranma. "But only one of you gets it."

Ranma didn't blink. "Give it to Sasami."

"Aren't you the good Samaritan?" Naraa snatched the bag out of his younger brother's hand and tossed  
it at Sasami.

The young girl barely managed to catch the heavy pack without bowling over. She blinked, unsure as she  
held it securely in her arms. At Ranma's nod, she quickly unzipped it and dove in, pulling out a couple of  
candy bars and a bag of chips.

"Willing to go hungry for someone else . . . pathetic," Boraa muttered. "Survival of the strongest, that's  
how we do it."

"I think I'll be fine." Ranma grinned, shook his head and rattled his chains. "Let's get goin', I ain't got all  
day."

* * *

Akane and Ukyou watched the huddled group of whispering teachers as if they were a top rated TV  
show. They had been blocking the exit to the library since before either of them had woken and weren't  
allowing any students to leave. Something was up.

"Hey." The two girls turned to see Nabiki as she scanned the room around them. "Have either of you  
seen Kuno?"

The two girls shared a quick glance. They still weren't on the best of terms since their encountered the  
day before.

"Haven't seen him all morning, sugar," Ukyou replied.

Akane shook her head as well. "Nope, kind of surprising that he hasn't jumped out proclaiming his love."

"Yeah . . . I found that odd too," Nabiki mumbled. "I can't find it him anywhere."

"You have any idea about what's going on over there?" Akane asked, nodding toward the teachers.

"I've heard bits and pieces from other students, but nothing really cohesive. Something apparently  
happened in another part of the school, and the teachers don't want any students to see it," Nabiki  
explained.

"I know what happened," a quiet voice rasped nervously, then coughed.

The three girls turned, finding Gosunkugi Hikaru standing uneasily nearby.

"Gosunkugi?"

The small, frail teen looked at the three girls, unable though to meet their eyes. "I know what  
happened," he repeated, just as quietly as before then coughed again. "Sorry, I think I'm getting sick."

"What happened?" Nabiki crossed her arms over her chest, unconvinced by Gosunguki's confession, and  
ignored his ailment.

Gosunkugi glanced around furtively. "Principle Kuno's dead," he whispered, and wrung his hands  
nervously.

"What?"  
"No way?"

"How?" Nabiki demanded, her glare making the skinny teen cower.

"Stabbed with a pair of his scissors." He glanced around again. "They think Kuno –sempai did it."

"They think Kuno killed his dad?" Akane asked and snuck a peek at the still huddled teachers. "Why  
would he do that?"

"Where is he?" Ukyou wondered, and looked around.

"How do you know this?" Nabiki's glare hardened and Gosunkugi cringed even more.

"I overheard the teachers talking earlier," he replied quickly. "They don't know where Kuno is. He's  
disappeared, but they found the front doors of the school wide-open this morning and think he's left."

"The doors were wide-open?" Akane exclaimed.

Gosunkugi nodded, coughing into his hand.

"And none of those things came in?" Ukyou wondered aloud. The three girls shared a look. When they  
turned back to Gosunkugi, he was gone, having slunk off, disappearing into the crowd of students.

"They think Kuno killed his own dad?" Akane repeated. "Well . . . I just can't believe it," she muttered in  
disgust. "He may have been a nut case, but a murderer . . ."

"And why his dad?" Nabiki asked. "Why not anyone else? He must've done it while we were all sleeping.  
Why not one of the teachers or a student?"

"Or you?" Ukyou added.

"Are you insinuating something, Kuonji-kun?" Nabiki growled, putting emphasis on the last word.

"You did screw him over a lot, Nabiki," Ukyou countered, raising an eyebrow, challenging the Tendo girl  
to deny it.

Instead, the mercenary Tendo glared.

"Who he could've killed doesn't matter, now. It's the fact that he DID kill someone that's important,"  
Akane whispered, butting in on their squabble. "He and his dad didn't get along, we all knew that."

"But to go as far as to kill him . . ." Nabiki said in disbelief.

"All I know is that Ranma-honey better get back here soon . . . With Kuno missing and gone crazier than  
before, there's no telling what could happen next."

Akane glowered at the still gathered teachers, scratching her leg. Everything was beginning to grate on  
her nerves, and things were steadily getting worse.

* * *

Groaning, Tenchi rolled over in the bed he was laying on. Then he sat up and promptly fell off, confused  
and disoriented. He made to stand, legs tangled in the sheets, when someone entered. Reaching for the  
Tenchi-ken with hands covered in blood, he grasped nothing, and panicked.

"You're awake!" an older woman's voice exclaimed.

Tenchi paused in his freaked out state long enough to look at who had spoken. In the doorway of the  
room stood a middle-aged woman with neatly cut, short brown hair, a worried expression on her face.

"Who're you? Where am I?" He glanced at his blood soaked arms and clothes. "What happened?"

"You killed that monster dog," the woman explained and approached slowly.

The memories of his fight with Orthrus flooded him and he clutched his head at the rising ache. His  
fingers pressed against his temple, smearing more blood across it.

"Are you ok?"

Tenchi shook his head. "Just a headache. How long have I been out? Who are you?"

"You've only been out for the night. It's just morning now, I think," the woman replied. "My name is  
Yukio Haruno. There are others downstairs."

Tenchi blinked. "More people? Alive?"

Yukio nodded, smiling lightly. "Yes, because of you. That dog demon had been wandering the streets  
before you arrived. It had already attacked a number of people. We found you after your fight and  
brought you into this house to rest," she said sadly.

After staring at his red hands for a minute, Tenchi blinked back into reality. "Where's my sword? The Tenchi-ken?"

"Your sword? Tenchi-ken?" Yukio repeated. "We didn't find any sword near you, only the hilt of one."

"Where'd you put it?" Tenchi asked urgently.

Yukio pointed at the night stand next to the bed, the Tenchi-ken there, stained with blood.

Leaning over from his sitting position, Tenchi grabbed the hilt, and dragged it off the stand. He clutched  
it tightly against his chest, and after a moment of silence, he looked up at Yukio, eyes hollow. "Where  
can I wash off this blood?"

* * *

Ranma smiled winningly at Boraa as the four continued their trek across the wasteland that was once  
Japan. For his part, what hunger Ranma felt hardly affected him and he knew it upset the one-horned  
demon. As a child he had been starved many times by his father while on their trip. This was nothing  
new to him.

Sasami was doing much better after eating a number of snacks from his pack. She was still visibly tired,  
but not as much as before. The smile on her face was directed at Boraa as well, mocking him in tandem  
with Ranma.

They were steadily getting closer to what looked like a section of a city; a high-rise in the center  
stretched into the clouds, taller than any building Ranma had ever seen. It didn't look like any building  
that had existed in Japan before the Red Wave hit. A large strip of highway ran through the middle of  
the remaining portion of city. Ranma gaped slightly; so much in one piece was a sight to behold.

"Is that where we're going?" Ranma asked.

"Yes," Naraa replied plainly. "That is the Ikebukuro."(1)

Ranma blinked, recognizing the district immediately. "The Ikebukuro?" He glanced at the tall building.  
"That's the Sunshine 60 Building? But it's different." (2)

"The Ikebukuro is our home now and the base of the Mantra," Naraa explained.

"Mantra?"

"Shut it, Army!" Boraa yanked on Sasami's chains, pulling her over.

Glaring at the one-horned demon, Ranma moved to help the fallen girl.

"Boraa."

Starting, the younger demon turned to his older brother. "What?"

"I'd rather we bring them BOTH in ALIVE," Naraa growled, staring at his brother through heavy lidded  
eyes.

"How much further til we get there?" Ranma stood protectively beside Sasami.

"Soon."

* * *

"How're you feeling, Dr. Tofu?"

The older man smiled. "A little better, Akane," he said, and carefully adjusted his injured arm in its sling.

"What about Cologne-san?" Ukyou asked.

"She's still resting. She's been through a lot for someone her age," he explained. Hopefully she'll wake  
up soon."

Akane and Ukyou nodded. "We could really use her help."

"Well, I've looked everywhere and asked everyone, and I can't find Kuno anywhere," Nabiki stated as  
she approached the three. She shook her head in defeat. "Maybe that little rat was right."

"Right about what?" Dr. Tofu eyed the girls suspiciously.

They explained to him what Gosunkugi had said, leaving the good Doctor with a serious disposition. He  
was silent for a moment. "None of you should know about that," he said at last.

"So then it's true?" Akane stared at the floor, having a hard time comprehending it all.

"You're to speak of this with NO ONE!" Dr. Tofu surprised the three girls with his anger. "We don't need  
the students to get into a panic over this."

"What if Kuno comes back and none of the students know about what he's done," Nabiki countered  
quietly.

"We don't need a panic. Everyone's already scared enough as it is," Tofu explained. "If Kuno returns,  
we'll take care of him before he has the chance to hurt anyone else."

"I don't like this," Nabiki muttered.

"It's not something to be liked, Nabiki; it's something to be dealt with and nothing else." Dr. Tofu  
adjusted his glasses before leaving the three girls to themselves.

"Unbelievable," Akane breathed.

"I know," Ukyou added.

"Well, we have no control over what's out there, and no control over what's in here," Nabiki growled  
and kicked the book return cart, jarring a couple loose.

* * *

"Father?"

"Hmm, yes, Kasumi?" Soun Tendo asked, looking up at his daughter from his game of shogi. Genma took  
the opportunity to switch some pieces.

"I'm going to Nekomi to visit a friend," Kasumi stated as she wiped her hands on her apron.

Genma stopped his cheating, suddenly worried. "You're leaving?"

Soun, too, was worried. "For how long? Alone?"

The oldest Tendo daughter smiled assuredly. "I'll be home in time to make dinner."

Genma visibly relaxed, and his cheating recommenced.

"Alone?" Soun repeated.

Kasumi kept on smiling, removing her apron. "I'll be visiting a friend, father. I'll be okay."

"What will you be doing in . . . Nekomi?" Soun queried, trying hard not to cry.

"Shopping, of course!" Kasumi replied brightly. "My friend has a new recipe I want to try."

"I say we let her go," Genma declared.

"But-"

"My taxi's already waiting outside," Kasumi said, and moved for the front door. "I'll be back later! Don't  
worry, father!" She gave a little wave and walked out.

Soun sat in silence, gazing at the door his daughter had just walked through, ignoring Genma's cheating  
hands.

As Kasumi stepped into the taxi, she looked back at her home, a small frown present on her face. For  
some reason she felt like this would be the last time she was going to see it.

The car jostled, and Kasumi sat up, rubbing her eyes wearily. She yawned softly, stretching her tired legs.  
For much of the day before, she had spent, wandering alone through a ward of Tokyo. She had searched  
for survivors, but after finding no one, had entered a nearby Toyota dealership, and used the back seat  
of a car as a makeshift bed.

Her back cracked and she groaned pitifully. It had not been a good night's sleep. She stopped her painful  
musing when a piece of metal clattered outside. She tensed and ducked down, scared.

There was another clang, and some muttering followed. She peeked through the window, seeing no  
one. Another clank that came from behind made her glance at the rearview mirrors. In the left one she  
saw a figure hunched over a car's engine.

The person stood up, long black hair tied into a braid that reached their lower back. They were wearing  
what appeared to be a woman's traffic cop uniform. Raising her arm, the young woman, somewhere in  
her early twenties, wiped the perspiration from her brow.

Kasumi opened the car door and stumbled out uncharacteristically into the room, startling the other  
woman. She spun around, wrench gripped tightly in her hand.

"Oh my!" Kasumi cried, surprised by her sudden fall.

The traffic cop, a little shorter than Kasumi, dropped her wrench in shock. It clattered noisily in the  
empty showroom. She blinked, frozen momentarily as Kasumi climbed to her feet.

Once steady, Kasumi stared, uneasy and excited. Her hands wrung her kimono, smiling anxiously. "Uh . . .  
hello," she greeted softly.

The traffic cop blinked again. "Hi," she managed through her shock. She glanced around the room,  
looking to see if anyone else was going to tumble out of a car.

"Um . . . I'm Kasumi Tendo," she said and bowed politely, if not a bit nervously.

The traffic cop looked around again before reaching down and picking up her wrench. "Miyuki Kobayakawa,"  
she responded and bowed in returned. "It's VERY nice to meet you, Tendo-san."

Kasumi and Miyuki smiled brightly at each other, happy to have found someone.

* * *

Ranma covered his face and groaned quietly. He was beginning to think that letting Naraa and Boraa  
bring him to Ikebukoru had been a bad idea.

The city's remnants were swarming with demons, many of the Naraa and Boraa variety, with more or  
less horns in dissimilar places, or different skin color, each one carrying a large weapon of some kind. A  
large number of dark skinned demons, with bodies as thin and frail looking as Gosunkugi's, stood guard  
at every street corner. holding long spears at their sides. Their large, brimmed straw hats covered most  
of their faces, only slits in the front allowing them to see.

Sasami had tensed at his side, clutching at his right arm. Many demons were staring at them now. From  
across the street, to the windows above their heads, their eyes gleamed of amusement, hatred and  
various other emotions.

The demons moved through the streets of the Ikebukuro like humans would, as they entered stores,  
buying and selling wares, and ate in rundown restaurants. Cars were not used, the streets empty of  
them and Ranma wondered where most of them had gone.

He noticed two demons, encased in sinister looking armor, approaching. The first demon's armor was  
made mostly of human bone, his helm a human's skull with bullhorns jutting out of the top. A long  
purple cap swung behind him as he walked.

The second demon's armor was a dull blue, spikes running down its shoulders to its wrists as well as  
from its hips to its ankles. His helm had no holes on it, but was covered in even more sharp points, and  
Ranma wondered how he saw where he was going. A dark red cape hung from his shoulders.

Ranma almost missed that both capes had different demonic symbols on them that looked somewhat  
similar to his arm's markings. Long swords hung at their hips and the metal from their armor clinked  
noisily with every step.

His heart rate quickened, and he realized then that the presence of the two approaching was intense,  
almost overwhelming.

"Demons Naraa and Boraa," the demon dressed in bone armor stated and Sasami flinched at the grated  
sound of his voice.

"Great Marques Marchosias," Naraa returned, nodding in acknowledgment. He nodded at the demon in  
the blue armor. "Great Duke Berith."

"Lord Thor has been awaiting your return," Marchosias said evenly. "Who are these humans?"

"Trespassers and possible spies of Provert," Naraa explained, though everyone could hear the lie in his  
voice. "They will stand Trial."

Marchosias looked at Sasami and Ranma, his gaze lingering on the latter and his left arm. "Interesting,"  
he muttered, his red eyes flashing. "Take them immediately to the cells; then report to Thor."

"Yes, sir," Naraa replied and Boraa growled.

The Great Marques and Great Duke brushed past, armor clinking and capes swishing. Ranma turned and  
watched them go, grasping his left wrist in his other hand. His arm was pulsing steadily again, having  
overcome the Zen's poison and regained its strength.

He tensed, and felt his shackles start to give. Sneaking a glance at Naraa and Boraa, Ranma grinned.

* * *

Setsuna Meioh and Hotaru Tomoe had left what had remained of Juuban, an entire three blocks, with  
little trouble. After wandering south or what they thought was south, they had entered another section  
of Tokyo that was still intact. As they searched the desolate streets, a figure appeared in the distance, a  
couple of blocks away.

They moved to intercept the person, calling out and waving but slowed when the figure finally took  
shape.

* * *

"What was that about?" Ranma asked, gaining Naraa and Boraa's attention. "Who were they, and what  
the hell is a Provert?"

"They," Naraa started, "are the Great Duke and Great Marques of Hell, Berith and Marchosias."

"They're pricks is what they are." Boraa sneered at their backs.

"They hold higher ranks in the Mantra and are more powerful than us," Naraa explained simply.

Ranma nodded, having felt their power. "At least there are only those two," he replied, relief flooding  
through his body at the thought. He silently made a crack in his shackles.

"No." Naraa's eyes hardened. "There are over a hundred, a number of them more fearsome than those  
two."(3)

* * *

The figure, cast in blood red armor with two long swords at his hips, appeared under the morning light.  
His helm had two white horns at its sides which pointed forward like a bull's. A face mask covered  
everything but his black eyes and the red cape that hung from his shoulders bore a black, demonic mark  
in the center.

Setsuna and Hotaru stood, wary now of the imposing figure that slowly approached.

"Be ready, Hotaru."

The younger of the two nodded firmly, though it was easy to see the fear on her face.

The devilish figure stopped a few yards away, his armor settling into place. He rested in his spot without  
any movement and eyed the two girls silently. Unfriendly, ragged breaths escaped through the helmet's  
mask.

What felt like hours to Hotaru passed before a word was spoken.

"Who are you to trespass on Mantra land?" The voice was hollow, near lifeless, but carried both  
strength and authority.

Hotaru glanced at Setsuna, and she wrung her hands.

Setsuna's face remained cool. "I am Setsuna Meioh, and this is Hotaru Tomoe. We are simply passing  
through. We did not know this land was under someone's control."

"Mantra Law states that any trespassers must be taken in to stand Trial," the demonic looking knight  
stated and reached for one of his swords. "You will come with me."

"We will leave your land instead," Setsuna reasoned. "It is unfair to punish us for things we did not  
know."

"I am the Great Duke Zepar, and as such you will not leave this land. You will either come with me to the  
Ikebukuro to stand Trial there," the Great Duke slowly drew his swords, holding them before himself, "or  
you will stand Trial right now."

The twin blades burst into raging red flames.

* * *

Ambling down the empty street, Ryu Kumon glanced at all the empty store fronts. Reaching a fruit cart,  
he plucked a fresh apple from one of its buckets and bit into it. He chewed loudly, checking out his  
surroundings again. When he moved on, he peeked through the windows of the cars that were still in  
one piece.

"Anyone here!" he called out, and took another bite out of the apple. He received no reply and pushed on.

In the middle of the day, the once bustling city was silent, barren, Godless. He gazed up at the  
skyscrapers, dead neon signs, and lifeless windows. Ryu squinted as the white sun appeared around the  
side of one building, steadily growing brighter. He continued on.

He blinked a couple times as he felt the ground beneath his feet and noticed the cars lining the street  
shudder softly.

"Earthquake?" Ryu glanced around, hoping to not see another stampede of animals or another rock  
monster. The road under his feet shook again, and he half expected a demon made of cement to pop  
out from the street.

Then he heard a scream. It was hushed, but definitely a woman's scream. Turning in the direction of its  
origin, Ryu estimated it had come from a couple blocks away. He ran down the street, but stopped when  
the cry returned. Spinning around, Ryu ran the other way, smacking his forehead.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ryouga stepped out of a supermarket, his newly stolen backpack stuffed with rations, and a bottle of  
lukewarm water in his hand. He took a sip and glanced around, while ignoring a spirit in the supermarket  
as it yelled at him to return the goods he'd taken.

Yawning, he scratched his right arm and moved down the block. The street was otherwise silent, a  
pleasure he had grown accustomed to over his many years of wandering alone. It was peaceful, calming,  
a feeling he didn't get when people were around.

He licked his lips and took another sip. "I could get used to this," he said with a smile moments before  
he felt a tremor run through the ground under his feet and the windows in the buildings around him.

A scream pierced the silence and he sighed. "Just when I was enjoying myself."

Another scream and he was moving toward it, hoping he wouldn't get lost.

* * *

Kasumi and Miyuki ducked behind a car, ragged, nervous breaths escaping their lips. The vehicle shook  
as the ten foot tall behemoth Troll stumbled into the showroom. The girls had felt it coming but hadn't  
known for sure what was making the ground shake until the very last second when it rounded the  
building side.

The hulking form sniffed the air before grunting and pushing a car out of its way with casual ease. It  
moved closer to their hiding place, lifting another car by its front and flipping it on its top.

Miyuki quietly reached down and grabbed her gun. She checked the chamber round and took a deep  
breath. "Get ready to run," she whispered.

Kasumi nodded weakly, and winced as yet another car in the room was shoved aside. The tires  
screeched loudly across the showroom floor.

"Run," Miyuki breathed.

"What?"

"Run!" Miyuki rolled out from behind the car, stopping in a crouch, gun held high.

Kasumi scrambled to her feet, running for the exit.

The troll grunted and blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of the two humans. Its head rocked  
back as a bullet entered its forehead. A small line of blood ran down its face from the wound before its  
large tongue came out, licking at some of it.

Miyuki pulled the trigger again, unloading another bullet into the troll's temple.

The troll stumbled back, crying out in pain and rage. It wiped at the blood running down its face and into  
its eyes before glaring at a now terrified Miyuki.

Hands shaking, the police woman fired the rest of her clip, hitting the troll a number of times in the gut  
and arms. The bullets did nothing to bring the behemoth down.

Bleeding profusely from its multiple wounds, the troll bumbled forward. It swiped at Miyuki, who fell  
back screaming, avoiding the large hand. It reached to grab her and as she hurriedly tried to reload her  
gun, something blunt crashed into the side of its head.

Miyuki rolled away from the reaching hand and falling wrench, shoving the new clip into her gun.

Kasumi stood, breathing heavily and grasped another, larger wrench in her delicate hands. She pulled  
back and let the tool fly, this one hitting the troll on the nose, breaking it with a loud crunch.

The troll reared back, punching through a car's top in its anger. It lifted the vehicle and flung it at Kasumi  
who screamed and dropped to the ground. The car passed right over her, shearing her long hair before  
crashing behind her feet.

Miyuki unloaded her new clip into the trolls back and side, the shots echoing through the silent streets.

Swinging its arms around, the troll roared, hoping to swat away the bullets tearing into its body.  
Grabbing the front of a truck, it threw it up, through the ceiling. A moment later the ceiling exploded  
downward, raining truck and plaster throughout the room.

Kasumi and Miyuki covered their heads, the once gray troll turned plaster white, its blood staining its  
skin and lots of the floor. It bellowed loudly, thrashing its arms about, creating a red cloud of dusty plaster.

Kasumi looked up, face white as a sheet. When she stumbled back, the troll picked up the car she had  
been hiding behind and lifted it over its head. It stared down at her balefully, grinning stupidly and  
bloodily.

"Don't move!"

Pausing, the troll blinked seconds before a foot slammed into its gut. It stumbled, falling onto its back,  
the car it had been holding dropping onto its chest and head. The behemoth grunted once before  
passing out.

The person landed in front of Kasumi, and she stared at the camouflage style pants. She started  
laughing, relief flooding through her.

* * *

Setsuna and Hotaru had transformed, and in doing so discovered that their powers were weaker than  
usual. The fight had not been pretty to start, the Great Duke easily withstanding their attacks, his swords  
deflecting them with casual ease. He appeared bored by their resistance.

He moved in close, swords blazing with hot flame. "You two are weak, and in a world like this, the weak  
do not deserve to live." Swinging his blades, two lines of fire raced at the girls.

They jumped apart, avoiding the flames and the Great Duke rushed for the now unguarded Hotaru, cape  
fluttering behind at his charge. Hotaru raised her staff as Zepar drew back his swords.

"Dead Scream." A large ball of energy screamed toward Zepar, tearing up the street as it did.

Zepar turned one of his blades, knocking the attack into the side of a building which exploded outward.  
A lance of flame seared at Setsuna from the sword as the other easily turned aside Hotaru's striking  
Silence Glaive. The tip of the burning sword stopped, resting at the young girl's temple, nearly scorching  
it with its flame. Hotaru screamed in surprised at the sudden counter attack.

Setsuna dove, barely avoiding the elongating, fiery spear. It continued on, cutting into the side of a  
building, the interior of which immediately exploded into flames. Every window exploded out, raining  
glass around its sides.

"A waste of my time," Zepar grumbled.

Hotaru swallowed and fell back.

"Move again, and you die," Zepar watched Setsuna climb back to her feet. "Now observe. I'll show you a  
power you can never hope to achieve."

The blade not pointed at Hotaru shrunk back to normal, still burning, and Zepar swiped it at Setsuna  
from a distance, a massive wave of fire pouring out. It raced toward the green haired Senshi, growing  
higher the further it traveled, melting the road and cars in its path.

Setsuna raised her Garnet Orb, preparing another Dead Scream. She'd barely managed to speak when  
someone dropped down beside her, threw her over their broad shoulder, and easily jumped out of the  
way. She shouted in surprise at the sudden rescue, but her eyes widened when the attack crashed into  
the building she'd been standing in front of. It quickly melted into burning ooze. As it tumbled to the  
side, it smashed into another building beside it. The windows from the other high rise shattered from  
the force, raining glass into the street.

They landed and Setsuna was set on her feet, dazed. She looked at her savior, who was reaching up to  
the bandana on his forehead.

* * *

The shackles snapped and fell to the ground, surprising everyone. Eyes wide, Ranma glanced at Naraa  
and Boraa, who were equally as shocked.

Stepping back, Ranma slugged Boraa in the gut and snapped a kick into Naraa's chin. The two demons  
fell and Ranma quickly grabbed Sasami's hand. He pulled, and she 'yipped' as he tossed her onto his  
back, pulling her shackled arms over his head and around his neck. "Hold on!"

The multitude of demons around them broke into a riot, many enraged, a few confused or scared. The  
angry ones rushed at Ranma and Sasami.

Grabbing the chain attached to Sasami's shackles, Ranma twirled it over his head. It hummed and  
sparked the ground every time he brought it down to nip the floor. He swung it around like a lasso,  
warding off the surrounding horde.

"This was foolish, Ranma."

His eyes snapped to the speaker, the chain never stopping.

"You've only made things harder for yourself." Naraa rubbed his chin, as if adjusting the spike that jutted  
from it back into place.

Two of the starved, black skinned demons broke through the crowd, heavy staffs at their sides. They  
eyed Ranma through the slits in their large straw hats.

Ranma whirled the chain at them, forcing them back a step.

"The Ikusa are much stronger than they look," Naraa explained, referring to the two malnourished  
guards.

"I'm a lot stronger than I look." Ranma whipped the chain around himself and Sasami again.

"You really think you can fight your way out of this?"

"I know I can." He swung the chain and the surrounding crowd backed away, muttering angrily.

"Ranma." Naraa stared the pigtailed boy right in the eyes. "Stop this, before it's too late."

Ranma's forehead creased, surprised by the serious tone in the two horned demons voice.

Boraa appeared at his brother's side, holding his stomach. "It's too late. He's already here."

The crowd surrounding Ranma parted, and a massive, 14 foot tall figure in heavy gold armor marched  
through. The two Ikusa stood at immediate attention, their bodies quivering like cooked noodles as they  
did. Ranma swore he heard their bones rattle.

Naraa and Boraa, along with many other demons, paused, some staring in awe, others glaring in anger,  
while a select few stood at respectful attention.

The hulking figure stepped up to Ranma, towering over him, his gold, Spartan like armor shining cleanly.  
A giant hammer big enough for only his large hands, hung at his hip. A long white cape draped from his  
shoulders and stormy yellow eyes stared down at Ranma through the slits of his helm.

His countenance reminded Ranma of Saffron, and Ranma found himself in as much awe as some of the  
demons. Sasami stared from over his shoulder.

The massive golden being looked the two up and down, lingering on Ranma's arm and Sasami's clinging  
form.

"Interesting . . ." he breathed, and Ranma felt his skin crawl, "Very interesting."

Regaining his composure, Ranma stepped back, chain whirling again. "Who're you?"

The giant ignored him. "Who brought these humans?"

"We did, Lord Thor," Naraa stated and he and his brother stepped forward.

'Thor? Where have I heard that name before?' Ranma thought frantically, recognizing it yet not knowing  
it fully. The name resonated power though, a power Ranma wanted to stay away from.

Thor, God of Thunder, looked at the two demons. "You let this happen?"

"The boy is stronger than he looks," Naraa replied uneasily. "He has a demon in his left arm as well."

"I can see that, demon," Thor rumbled. "He will stand Trial immediately for this attempted escape."

"Try and make me!" Ranma snapped, spinning the chain between himself and Thor.

Thor glanced around at the assembled demons and chuckled loudly, prompting them all to laugh  
raucously along with him.

Ignoring the laughter, Ranma whipped the heavy chain at Thor only to gape as the God grabbed it out of  
midair. He and Sasami were yanked off their feet, Ranma landing on his knees and Sasami falling from  
his back.

Electricity ran down the chain, shocking the two and they convulsed in pain, screaming. Ranma released  
the chain and rolled away, clutching his sides. He punched the street, cracking it to dull the electrical  
pain as Sasami continued to cry out.

"Stop!" Ranma shouted and jumped at Thor, punching him in the chest. His fist did nothing to the armor  
and instead he was launched back, through the air, by a burst of lightning. He fell, clothes and hair  
smoking lightly.

Thor had released the chain, sparing Sasami from more anguish, instead focusing on the fallen Ranma.  
"You foolishly attempt to strike me? I am a God."

Ranma pushed himself to his feet, breathing heavily. He met Thor's eyes, glaring dangerously. "You may  
be a God, a demon, you could be the devil himself, I don't care! If you hurt Sasami again I WILL kill you."

His arm glowed brightly from the anger coursing through his heart.

Sasami had curled up into a ball, crying, coughing, shaking, and whimpering.

Thor unhooked his hammer and pointed it at Ranma. "You are too weak and thus have been judge guilty  
by me. Your execution shall be right now." The hammer began to shine and crackle with electricity.

Ranma braced himself.

* * *

Ryouga sneered, barring his fangs at the Great Duke, and pulled two bandanas from his forehead. He  
reared back, throwing them hard. They cut through the air, spinning at Zepar who raised his free sword  
to block it.

The first bandana hit his sword and burst into flames. The bandana still forced the blade aside and Zepar  
found himself having to use his other sword, leaving Hotaru unguarded. He smacked the other bandana  
away and watched briefly as it cut through a light post and lodged itself in the side of a building.

Hotaru swiped her Silence Glaive, hitting Zepar in the side of his leg and cutting it heavily. The Great  
Duke dropped to his knee and swung his sword around at Hotaru. He was stopped as the ground  
beneath him exploded, throwing him back, cement blocks smashing into his body.

He rolled to his feet, avoiding Ryouga's fist as it slammed into the ground, shattering the concrete, and  
creating a large crater. The ground exploded again, showering the two fighters in debris and a cloud of  
dust. Zepar sliced his swords across his body, clearing the dust away right in time to see another  
screaming ball of energy fly at him. He leapt over it easily and landed on top of a light post.

"You're quite strong," Zepar stated, eyeing Ryouga with interest. "You're not a normal human."

Ryouga looked up at the Great Duke, his right arm buried in the street, up to his shoulder. He gave a  
toothy grin, and slowly started pulling his arm from the ground.

"You're right . . ." Ryouga replied and yanked the rest of his arm free, revealing a strange red line that  
ran down his forearm. It glowed brightly, pulsating erratically as more lines spread like red vines over his  
skin and down to his hand. They slowed to a stop, the sound of a second heart beating only in Ryouga's  
ears. He inhaled, relishing the new presence and subsequent power that came with it.

"I'm not normal."

* * *

"Wait, sir!"

Thor paused and eyed the speaker. "You question my authority, demon?"

Naraa stood at attention. "The human should not be judged like this."

"You don't trust my judgment?" Thor was without humor, his tone gravely serious. "I have found him  
guilty, demon."

"I know, sir, but I'd like this human to stand Trial like the rest. Don't you think that after all this he  
deserves the chance to defend himself, my Lord?" Naraa tried to reason, but didn't move from where he  
stood. He knew Thor would fry him if he even attempted to get in the way.

Thor laughed at the flattering response. "I suppose you're right. I'm curious now to see what this human  
can do in the Trials."

As Thor lowered his hammer, Ranma charged him. He feigned a punch with his right and struck with his  
demonic left arm. His fist hit armor and again he was shocked, but he drove against it. The electricity  
currents surrounded him, passing through his body, and he gritted his teeth from the pain.

Thor's hammer rose and fell, knocking Ranma out and dropping him to the street.

"Take them to the cells," Thor ordered and turned to leave. "Prepare the boy for his Trials immediately  
thereafter."

Naraa and Boraa moved forward, picking up the two downed humans.

Thor stopped and glanced down at his armor, fingers running over a small crack that had suddenly  
appeared. His large eyes narrowed in thought.

* * *

"It appears that I'll have use my true power," Zepar stated and stuck his swords down into the light post.  
The flames on his blades died out and he reached back to his cape. Thick armored fingers fiddled with  
the latches and the cape dropped to the street, slamming into it like a ton of bricks.

Zepar stretched. "Much better."

"His cape was weighted," Ryouga muttered to Setsuna who had retrieved Hotaru during all the  
commotion.

The Great Duke pulled out his swords which burst back into flames. They grew in length then went limp,  
now fiery whips. Zepar leapt into the air, pulling his whips back, his speed much greater.

"Faster," Ryouga added as the Great Duke flung his arms forward, the whips following through.

"Silent Shield," Hotaru intoned and the fiery whips were stopped by the appearance of a dark purple  
wall.

"Dead Scream." Setsuna's attack broke through the shield, surprising Zepar. The demon jumped up to  
avoid it.

Ryouga appeared behind the ball and leapt up at the Great Duke, fist pulled back.

'Their team work is nearly flawless," Zepar thought as he raised his whips for defense.

The glowing red fist brushed the Great Dukes chest and Ryouga cursed at his miss. One of Zepar's whips  
coiled around his pulsing right arm and the two fighters dropped to the street. Ryouga grasped the end  
of the whip in his hand, the fires trying desperately to burn him, but he held the weapon in place. Blood  
seeped through his fingers as the bladed whip cut into his palm.

"That's it?" Ryouga asked and yanked on the line.

Zepar pulled back, trying to free his weapon and prepared to strike with the other. "Why aren't you  
being burned?"

Ryouga stepped back and tugged, dragging the Great Duke forward. He turned hard and Zepar stumbled  
to his side, onto his knees. The Lost Boy pulled again, and Zepar released the whip before he could be  
dragged forward again. The weapon unraveled from Ryouga's arm, returning to its original sword state.  
Picking it up, Ryouga tossed it aside, away from the demon.

Zepar stood, clutching his other whip tightly. "I'm going to kill you all."

"Silence Glaive Surprise."  
"Dead Scream."

Ryouga jumped high into the air, over the combined attacked of Setsuna and Hotaru.

They mixed together until it was one, and it ripped its way at Zepar, tearing apart the street, while  
flipping cars onto their sides, their windows erupting from just the touch. The Great Duke snapped his  
whip up at the building to his left and it straightened back into a long sword. It stabbed into the wall and  
as if he were pole vaulting, he lifted himself high into the air. The incredible attack tore past, underneath  
him, and as he started to fall, the blade went limp again.

Ryouga leapt to meet him in midair and the two collided violently. His fist drove into Zepar's chest as  
Zepar's whip wrapped itself around the fanged boy's waist.

The Great Duke flew back, crashing into the wall of a nearly collapsed apartment. From the momentum,  
Ryouga was dragged by the whip, and flew at Zepar, rearing back his burning red right arm.

"No!" Zepar uttered moments before Ryouga's fist slammed into his armored face. The Great Duke  
exploded through the wall, out the other side, and across the subsequent street, into the side of another  
building which collapsed inward from the impact.

The whip, still around Ryouga's waist, reverted back to its sword form and fell down to the street below.  
As the Lost Boy landed beside it, waist burnt and bleeding, he stepped on the blade, breaking it in two.

Hotaru and Setsuna hurried to his side. "Are you all right?"

"I've been better." Blood ran down over his pants and pooled over the ground around his feet.

Hotaru raised her hands and immediately started healing him.

Ryouga's right arm pulsed powerfully, shining redder with every beat. The markings spread, running  
over his fingers and up to his shoulder.

* * *

Ranma snapped awake and shook his head. Sitting up slowly, he covered his eyes from the invading  
light. The arm he had dreamt of, exactly like his but red, had been frightening, stronger and more  
dangerous than his own.

He glanced around, realizing that he was alone in a dark cell. A few random voices carried past his bars.

"So those four are gone?"

"Yeah, they just took off in the middle of the night. Apparently they went into the caves."

"Damn, that's too bad. Those guys were really strong."

"What's going on?" Ranma said to no one in particular.

A floating, cape wearing, jack-o-lantern appeared. It was carrying, ironically, a lit lantern. "What's this?  
You're awake?"

Ranma stared at the demon in shock. "Uh . . ."

"The name's Jack, pal, and it's about time you woke up," the floating pumpkin stated. "We can't start  
your Trials with you sleeping." Jack floated out of sight, much to Ranma's annoyance.

Alone again, Ranma pressed his face against the cell bars. He glanced up and down the hall. "Hello?  
Sasami?"

"Ranma-san?"

"Sasami? Where are you?"

"Right next to you."

Ranma blinked before Sasami's slim arm appeared out of the corner of his eyes. She was in a cell next to  
his apparently. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm not alone."

"What-" Naraa banged on the bars, and Ranma stepped back. The cell opened and Boraa stepped in.

"Don't try to escape now, Ranma," Naraa said, referring to the teen by his first name for the second  
time.

"Just go with you to my Trials?" Ranma bit out sarcastically, tensing for a fight.

"Yes, it's your best chance of surviving."

Ranma thought for a moment, about making another break for it, freeing Sasami and fighting his way  
out of wherever they were. It'd be suicide. He exhaled in frustration. "Alright then, let's go."

Naraa grinned and Boraa grabbed Ranma's elbow, leading him out into the empty hallway. The walls  
were bare, cream colored, and the floor a cold stone. It was a very plain and chilly décor, perfect for  
demons.

As they moved, Ranma glanced at Sasami's cell, seeing her and about fifteen other people inside. The  
group watched him with wide, frightened eyes. He grinned and gave them all a thumb up with his free  
hand.

Sasami smiled back.

They turned a corner, Ranma now alone with Naraa and Boraa. "There are three Trials you must pass to  
prove your innocence."

Ranma peered at Naraa out of the corner of his eye.

"If you pass them, Lord Gozu-Tennoh will most likely want to meet you."

"Why're you telling me this? Why have you been trying to help me?"

"Because I have a feeling about you, and one day when I need help . . ."

"I'll return the favor," Ranma concluded.

Naraa grinned. "The first Trial should be no problem for you. You're strong enough to handle it."

Ranma nodded. "The second?"

"Much tougher, of course, you remember the Ikusa guards?" Boraa asked, joining the conversation.

"Yeah, the skinny guys with the staffs?" Ranma said.

"One of them is the second Trial. They're a lot stronger than they look, as well as flexible. Don't  
underestimate him."

"Okay, what about the third?"

"You'll have to pull out all the stops." Naraa shook his head, disgusted.

"Usually they don't go to such an extreme, but you're a special case. Word is they're bringing in a Great  
Duke to challenge you," Boraa explained, "If you make it through the first two Trials that is."

"A Great Duke . . ." Ranma muttered. Down the hall he could hear a host of excited voices.

"Apparently Thor wanted to do it, but Lord Gozu-Tennoh refused," Naraa added. "You got lucky."

"Yeah, lucky me . . ."

"Slightly," Naraa said. "A Great Duke isn't some easy fight."

"Do you know which one?"

"Sorry, haven't a clue as to which."

"If we find out before the fight we'll let you know," Naraa reassured.

Nodding, Ranma was escorted into a large room, the walls lined with various spectator demons. Thor sat  
hunched forward, eyeing Ranma's entrance. In the center of the room was a large ring, encircled by bars  
that reached up to the ceiling. It was a prison cell with no walls, just bars, so all the demons could see  
inside. Ranma looked over, noticing a couple small, but plump, purple creatures scraping something off  
the floor. They greedily shoveled it into their wide, toothy mouths.

"Pretas," Naraa stated, answering Ranma's unasked question. "Nasty little bastards."

"What're they eating?" Ranma asked, squinting at the Pretas.

"The last person on Trial."

The Pretas turned and looked at him as one. They smiled, large teeth smeared with blood. Ranma's fist  
clenched, and his left arm beat in response to his sudden anger. His knuckles popped from the tension  
as he watched the Pretas scurry out of the cell.

"Don't lose to your anger." Naraa shoved Ranma into the cell. The door snapped shut behind him,  
locking him in and the assembled spectators immediately booed.

Ranma took a deep breath, trying to ignore the large blood stain in the center of the ring and the  
numerous jeers that were being sent his way. The crowd started cheering as a demon, much like Naraa  
and Boraa, entered from the other side. He had four horns, sharp eyes and crooked teeth. Raising his  
arms, the demon milked the crowd for more cheers which they readily gave.

Ranma's glare hardened.

A demon wearing black armor stood up among the crowd, a black cape hung from his back. He was tall,  
over six feet. His obsidian helm had no holes for eyes or ears, only a large one for his monstrously gaping  
mouth, and the horns on top that pointed straight up only added to his overwhelming height.

The crowd silent as the demon began to speak, his voice loud and heavy. It demanded respect and the  
crowd willingly gave it to him by instantly silencing.

"This human stands Trial for multiple crimes against the Manta. First offense: Trespassing. Second  
offense: Being a Povert spy. Third offense: Attempting to escape; and his fourth offense: Assaulting a  
High Member of the Mantra. For these crimes he stands Trial in order to prove his innocence. His Trials  
will begin shortly."

Ranma walked over to the side of the ring and Naraa approached. "Who's that?" he asked through the  
bars, nodding at the demon that had announced his crimes.

"That's King Paimon. He speaks on behalf of Lord Gozu-Tennoh outside of his throne room," Naraa  
explained. "He's not one to be trifled with."

"Hence the helmet with no eye or nose holes," Ranma figured.

"Exactly." Naraa glanced over the crowd. "Typically Trials aren't this packed, but after the stunt you  
pulled, everyone wants to see you go down."

"What about this guy?" Ranma nodded at the four horned demon.

"He is of no relation to Boraa and me."

Ranma grinned. "Good, then I don't have to go easy on him."

* * *

"So just who are you?"

"Ryouga Hibiki, who're you?" He glanced around at the mess their fight had made.

"I'm the Sailor Senshi of Pluto, and she's the Senshi of Saturn."

Ryouga nodded, preparing to leave. "It was nice fighting with you. I'll see you later maybe."

"Where are you going?" Hotaru asked, wide-eyed.

"Dunno really, just going."

"We should come with you." Setsuna stepped forward, closer to Ryouga. "It'd be better for us to stick  
together."

"Er . . . I kinda get lost a lot," Ryouga replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Setsuna and Hotaru blinked. "We'll just . . . keep a close eye on you then."

"You can try."

"What's on your arm?" Hotaru asked, pointing at his marked right arm.

Ryouga looked at her, then to his red-marked arm and shrugged. Again, he glanced around, trying to  
figure out where exactly they were.

"You're a good guy, right?"

The lost boy grinned, barring his fangs. "Very good."

* * *

The demonic crowd broke into cheers as Ranma stepped back into the center of the ring. He glanced at  
the blood stain, then up at his opponent. With little effort, he blocked out his surroundings, focusing  
solely on the demon in the cage with him

"You'll be joining that spot soon," the four horned demon taunted.

Ranma fixed him with a glare but took no stance.

"You should probably start running now!" the demon cried and charged, readying a punch. The crowd  
grew louder, deafening almost.

* * *

Down the hall, Sasami and the other prisoners listened to the echoing roar of the crowd.

"He's dead," someone muttered, and the other prisoners hung or shook their heads in disappointment.

"No way!" Sasami exclaimed. "Ranma-san's gonna win!"

"Look, kid, I've seen a number of people go down that hall now and none of them hav-" a guy started  
but paused when the cheers abruptly stopped.

* * *

Ranma's fist embedded itself hard into the demons face. The demon's head rocked back, and his body  
followed. He crashed into the bars and slumped to the ground, blood pouring out his nose and mouth.

The crowd went silent, shocked. Naraa and Boraa grinned as Ranma wiped the blood from his knuckles  
onto his pants. Boraa walked off, down the hallway.

Ranma sighed and glanced at the crowd who were starting to recover. He found Thor, taking note that  
the God didn't look surprised, but more annoyed, probably at the fact that he wasn't going to get the  
chance to fight.

* * *

Boraa arrived at the other prisoner's cell and grinned. "Ranma's passed the first Trial."

Having said this, he turned and left.

Sasami stuck her tongue out at the other prisoners. "Told you!"

* * *

The crowd was booing now, both Ranma and the beaten demon. The King Paimon stood again and the  
crowd went silent.

"The human has been found innocent in his first Trial." The crowd booed, and Paimon raised a hand to  
quiet them. His large mouth opened, revealing razor sharp and rotten teeth. "The second Trial will begin  
soon."

Ranma walked over to the side again, to where Naraa stood, smiling broadly. "You're even better than I  
thought. Seeing how easily you handle the four horn, the Ikusa should be little trouble for you."

"I think the Judge realized that as well," Ranma said, glancing off to the side where four Ikusa were  
ushering into the ring a monstrous beast. With the full body of a lion, a long rattlesnake for a tail and a  
goat head sticking out of its back, the beast roared, and Ranma flinched. "What . . . is that?"

"That's the Chimera . . . much stronger than an Ikusa. Watch out for its tail when it gets close, and don't  
try any sneaky attacks, it has got incredible senses."

"I'm afraid of cats."

"What?" Naraa blinked at the ridiculous statement.

"I'm afraid of cats. That's a big . . . mutated . . . cat."

"Then don't look at it," Naraa replied and shook his head. "Afraid of a cat, are you kidding me."

The Ikusa quickly shuffled out of the ring. The crowd cheered as the Chimera walked over to the fallen  
demon and slammed its front paws into his chest. The demon snapped awake, eyes wide.

"No!" he cried before the Chimera's lion mouth closed on his head. He struggled against the beast  
before its rattlesnake tail bit him multiple times. The body stilled, convulsed, and then moved no more.  
The audience went wild.

"That . . . is one big cat," Ranma repeated, stepping back.

The Chimera climbed off the demon, licking its chops. It moved, planning to attack from the side, and  
Ranma followed it with his eyes. The beast pounced and Ranma rolled away, the rattlesnake tail  
snapping right at his ear.

'This isn't gonna be a close range fight while that tail's involved,' he thought as the Chimera circled  
again. Leaning back to avoid a swipe, he stumbled, his fear nearly overtaking him.

The crowd groaned, having hoped for a hit.

"Don't look at it, Ranma . . ." he muttered to himself. "I can fight this thing without looking at it directly."

His arm pulsed and Ranma blinked at it, having nearly forgotten about it in his frightened state.

Ranma grinned. "Yeah, and you'll help me, won't you."

The beat of his arm steadied and slowed and Ranma peered at the beast out of the corner of his eyes. As  
it got closer, the beat in his arm grew stronger. It was like having a sixth sense.

When the beast roared, Ranma wished he could turn off his hearing, shuddering from the sound. His  
arm pulsed heavily and he dove aside, avoiding the Chimera's attempted tackle.

'If I can distract its main body, I could go after the tail unchecked,' Ranma reasoned. He grinned  
suddenly, a plan coming into fruition. Cart wheeling away, Ranma stopped at the dead demon's body. As  
the Chimera closed in, Ranma grabbed one of the demon's legs.

"Saotome School of Anything Goes: Demon Body Throw!" He pulled on the leg and tossed the corpse.

The Chimera rose up, catching the body with its front paws and slammed it onto the floor. Ranma  
appeared, jumping over its head to land on its back. The goat head there spotted him and opened its  
mouth. A flame thrower like line of fire spewed forth.

Ranma arched his back, falling onto the beast's head, barely avoiding the flames. He rolled off and  
scrambled to the side bars as the Chimera growled angrily at him. It dug its claws into the corpse,  
tearing open its chest.

"Why didn't you tell me the goat head could do that?" Ranma snapped, brushing embers from his  
sleeve.

"I didn't even know it could do that," Naraa replied. "No one that's fought the Chimera has lasted this  
long before."

Ranma leapt up, clinging to the bars and the Chimera crashed into the area below him. Naraa stumbled  
back and Rama continued to scale upward. The crowd booed, the Chimera roared, Naraa cursed and  
Ranma breathed heavily.

The Chimera jumped, trying to climb the bars. It fell, unable to reach Ranma or get a grip. Roaring, the  
goat head on its back shot another line of fire up the bars.

Ranma pushed off, back flipping over the flame and Chimera, landing near its hind legs. He dodged to  
the side, avoiding a strike from the rattlesnake tail. Hands moving fast, Ranma grabbed onto it, holding it  
tightly at the base of its head. As the rest of the beast turned, Ranma forced the snake's mouth open  
and jammed it onto the side of the goat's head.

The goat head cried out as the rattlesnakes teeth slid into it, poisoning it. It shook, trying to dislodge the  
reptile tail. Roaring, the Chimera bucked like a horse, its back paws slamming into Ranma's chest,  
throwing him across the ring.

Ranma hit the floor and skid to a stop. As the crowd cheered, he groaned, and pushed himself back to  
his feet. His left arm was going crazy, burning hot, shining brightly and Ranma clenched his fist.

The Chimera slowly turned to face him, the goat head on its back slumped over, dying. The rattlesnake  
tail was free, wagging wildly, clearly pissed from being manhandled in such a way. The rest of the body  
didn't look to be doing as well. Its breathing had become ragged and its movements sluggish. It opened  
its mouth but all that came out was blood.

Ranma looked away, not wanting to watch the giant cat die. He rubbed the spot where he'd been hit  
and the crowd hollered furiously when the Chimera finally collapsed under its own weight. It gave one  
last gurgled breath before stilling completely. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ranma eyed the dead animal.  
"God, I hate cats."

The crowd was in an uproar. Many looked as if they wanted to jump into the ring themselves.

"Two down," Naraa stated as Ranma approached.

"One to go."

* * *

"They're booing again."

"Do you think he won?"

"Of course he won!" Sasami exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

A loud bang drew their attention to the bars, where the floating Jack-o-lantern appeared. He'd smacked  
his lantern against the bars. "Quiet down!"

"Calm down, Jack."

The pumpkin demon turned to the speaker. "Ah, demon Boraa, what can I do for you?"

"Don't be upset that the Army passed the second Trial," Boraa stated before grinning at the imprisoned  
humans.

"I'm not," Jack replied indignantly. "There's no way he'll beat Great Duke Eligor!"

"Eligor . . ." Boraa muttered. "They chose Eligor?"

"Who's Eligor?" one of the prisoners asked.

* * *

"Who's that?" Ranma watched the new demon closely as he approached the ring.

The demon, encased in dark red armor, a similarly red cape hanging from his back, march through the  
crowd. His helmet covered everything under his eyes while two devilish horns protruded from the sides.  
He carried a large naginata at his side. Pure black eyes focused solely on Ranma, ignoring the  
rambunctious crowd around him.

"That's Great Duke Eligor," Naraa replied. "He's near indestructible."

"Indestructible?"

The Great Duke stepped into the bloody ring, the door shutting behind him.

"When he's holding his weapon, his body is unbreakable. You can't hurt him," Naraa explained.

"So if I disarm him, I can hurt him?"

"I've never seen that weapon leave his hand."

King Paimon stood and the crowd silenced once more. "Great Duke Eligor shall oversee the third and  
final Trial. Should the human succeed, he will be found not guilty and be invited to become a member of  
the Mantra."

The crowd booed, hurling insults at Ranma.

"Just what I always wanted," Ranma muttered joylessly. "What about Gozu-Tennoh?"

King Paimon turned to the teen, the crowd suddenly quiet, though seething visibly. "Lord Gozu-Tennoh  
does not see pathetic humans such as you."

The crowd burst into raucous laughter.

"Oh, he'll want to see me, especially after I cream the Duke here," Ranma retorted, jerking a thumb at  
Eligor.

Paimon ignored him, instead addressing his opponent. "Great Duke Eligor."

The demonic Duke stepped forward, drawing up his weapon. "I'll make your death quick," he  
announced, his voice hard and heavy as steel.

"You can try."

The Great Duke moved, raising his naginata, and stabbed at Ranma. The teen easily dodged around it  
and back flipped away. The weapon twirled in Eligor's hands before the strikes came fiercer, faster and  
Ranma became hard pressed to avoid them all cleanly.

'Damn!' he thought. 'He's really fast!' Ranma rolled under a side swipe, and sprang away when the blade  
dropped down at him. The naginata hit the floor, cracking it. Ranma was already on him, stepping on the  
back of the blade to pin it down. His fist slammed into Eligor's chest.

Nothing happened.

Eligor lifted his weapon, Ranma with it. The teen flipped off, surprised that his attack had done  
absolutely nothing. He stumbled away, the naginata stabbed, swung, and swiped faster, forcing him to  
dodge even more.

His back hit the cage bars and he ducked. The naginata sliced over his head, and cut through the bars  
with ease. Ranma kicked Eligor's ankle and rolled away again, his attack having no effect.

Ranma reached down and rubbed the spot where his ankle had hit the Great Duke's. "Damn, that armor  
hurts."

Eligor spun around, cape flowing, and his naginata followed. Ranma pushed himself back, avoiding it,  
then charged as Eligor raised it over his head. "Kachu Tenshi Amaguriken!"

His fist struck the Great Duke what appeared as three times. The 300 punches forced Eligor to stumble a  
step. The crowd gasped then went silent. The high ranking demons began whispering to one another.  
Eligor and Ranma paused, surprised as well.

"Not so tough now?" Ranma taunted, though his hand was stinging.

Eligor raised his naginata, armor clinking. His hard voice issued from his devilish helm. "For that, I'm  
going to kill you."

"Didn't you already say that?" Ranma retorted, and charged again.

The Great Duke sliced at Ranma. The attack was avoided and Eligor was punched in the chest and  
stomach another 200 times. He stepped back, swinging his weapon to ward the teen off.

Ranma flipped away easily, before rubbing his knuckles. 'That armor's gonna tear up my fists if I keep  
this up.' The lines on his arm beat steady, and Ranma swore he could hear a voice softly whispering to  
him.

Eligor approached, spinning his naginata over his head and then in front of himself.

Ranma stood low, dropped his hands to his right hip. "You're not going to beat me," he said and his  
hands suddenly filled with blue ki. He pushed his hands forward. "Moko Takabisha!"

The ball of ki shot at the Great Duke. He stopped twirling his naginata and sliced it at the ball. The ki split  
in two and vanished, much to Ranma's surprise.

"You think I haven't seen such a technique before?" Eligor started twirling his weapon again.

The whispering in Ranma's arm grew louder. 'use me. . .' it urged. 'use me. . .'

'Could the Hiryu Shoten Ha work against this guy? He seems too level headed. Maybe the Forbidden  
Techniques?'

As Ranma debated internally how to defeat him, Eligor spoke again, "Is that all, human? Are you out of  
tactics?"

Ranma chuckled. "Not even close."

"You will tire out long before I do, boy," the Great Duke sneered.

'Use me . . . Use me . . .'

"Then I'll just have to beat you before that happens," Ranma retorted and suddenly vanished into thin  
air.

"A stealth technique in such an enclosed area? Foolish. How long can you hope to hide here, human?"

"Not long."

Eligor's eyes widened and he turned, raising his naginata.

Ranma's hands, full of ki, were directed at Eligor's back. The ball of ki crashed into the Great Duke's side  
as he turned, throwing him across the ring and slammed him against the bars. Ranma dropped to his  
knee and inhaled deeply.

"How was that, eh?"

Eligor rose to his feet, naginata gripped tight in his armored hand. The bars behind him were smashed  
outward. He turned his head and stared at Ranma, bored.

"How was what?" he asked, and his eyes, if possible, grew even blacker in his red helm.

'Use me! Use me!' Ranma clenched his left fist and tried to bury the voice. 'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!'

"Allow me to show you some of my powers," Eligor growled. He began to spin his naginata in front of his  
body and Ranma blinked at the sudden gust of wind. Cape flapping, the naginata picked up speed, high  
winds flowing through the entire room.

Ranma raised his arms and he found his feet sliding back. His pigtail whipped wildly and he closed his  
eyes from the rush of dust. His arm pulsed in annoyance. 'Use me!'

'It's too strong,' Ranma thought, struggling against the wind and ignoring his left arm's screaming.

The naginata stopped, the winds immediately halting. Eligor brought it back.

Hesitant eyes opened just in time to see the Great Duke swipe the naginata at him from across the ring.  
A visible line of powerful wind slammed into his chest, blowing him into the bars behind him.

He fell onto the dead Chimera, a large gash across his upper chest.

'Use me! Use me! You can't ignore me! Use me!'

'Shut up, damnit!' Pushing himself up, Ranma jumped, grabbing onto the bars and clung to them as the  
rattlesnake, still alive, snapped at him. Another line of wind sliced through the snake, then the bars  
below Ranma's feet.

'USE ME!'

'SHUT UP!' Ranma leapt off the bars, over another wind slice. He landed in a crouch and charged.  
Sidestepping the next attack, he moved up close and slammed 100 punches into Eligor's head, anger  
boiling over. 'LEAVE ME ALONE!'

Eligor stumbled, surprised by the quick and powerful blow. He swung his naginata around and it  
connected with Ranma's side, sending him tumbling across the ring.

'USE ME, DAMNIT!' the voice raged.

"Enough of this," the Great Duke growled, and he reached back and unclasped the hooks on his  
shoulders. His cape dropped, landing hard and spider webbing the floor with cracks. "Now I'll  
show you another level to my power."

Ranma rose slowly to his feet, staring at the ground. "Then I guess . . ." he started and blue flames  
exploded from the lines on his left arm. They grew fiercer, covering his demonic arm completely. "I'll  
have to show you my next level."

The crowd of demons watching all stood, each trying to see the fiery arm. Thor rose over them all and  
his large eyes narrowed. His great height barely fit inside the room.

Eligor stepped back. "Incredible . . . the demonic flames aren't even burning his clothes, yet they're so  
large. What kind of monster . . ."

Ranma raised his hand and looked it over slowly. 'So this is what it's like . . . to use you. Amazing . . . No  
one could ever beat me like this.' The blue flames licked his cheek, almost affectionately, but it didn't  
burn.

He turned his eyes to Eligor, grinning darkly. "I've only used this arm four times now, but never to this  
extent or for so long. I'm excited to see what it can really do."

"That arm will never come close to me! I'll remove it from your body before it can!" Eligor countered  
and began twirling his naginata. Wind started to blow again.

The flames around Ranma's arm whipped. "Not this time. . ."

* * *

"The crowd's gone silent," one of the male prisoners announced.

"Is it over?" another asked.

"What's wrong with the girl?"

They all looked over to Sasami, down on her knees, staring blankly ahead. Her hands clutched at the  
hem of her school uniform, trying to squeeze the fear out of her body.

An elderly woman swooped in, pulling the shocked girl into her arms.

"Such a horrible presence . . . what kind of monster. . ." Sasami finally breathed.

"Just what the hell is going on?" someone shouted.

* * *

Ranma rushed forward, cutting through the wind. His fiery left arm extended and his hand grabbed the  
naginata, stopping it abruptly, stunning the Great Duke. He cocked his right fist back, punched Eligor 500  
times, right in the face, and tried to pry the naginata out of his grip.

Eligor held on and Ranma released the weapon. The Great Duke stumbled back, brought the naginata  
across his chest and swung it at the pigtailed teen.

Ranma stepped in close, blocking the steel shaft of the naginata with his right arm.

"Too easy." He grinned and his fiery left arm burned brighter. His fist connected with Eligors chest,  
breaking through the armor, his body, demolishing his ribs, and then exploded out the Great Duke's  
back, slamming into the bars on the other side. They cracked and bent from the blow.

Silence reigned throughout the room.

'Incredible . . . while Eligor still holds his naginata,' Naraa thought, awed by the sight of Ranma's arm  
rammed through Eligor's chest. His fists clenched at his sides in excitement, trembling.

'I should have killed him when I had the chance.' Thor stood over the crowd and turned to leave.

Ranma pulled his arm from Eligor's chest, with a slick and bloody plop. The flames around his arm had  
died out and it was covered with blood instead. It dripped from his fingers, pattering the floor.

"Impossible . . ." Eligor gargled and blood oozed from under his mask. "A stupid . . . human . . ." The  
naginata shook in his hand, his grip weakening. He dropped heavily to his knees.

Ranma flicked his hand at the downed Great Duke, sprinkling his helm with his own blood. "Yeah, just a  
stupid human." His arm pulsed in delight.

"I'm going . . . to kill . . ."

"No. You're not." He grabbed Eligor's naginata and tore it from his numb fingers. The weapon twirled in  
Ranma's hands and he stepped away, turned around, and rolled the shaft around his hips, and behind  
his back. The blade hit and easily sliced through Eligor's neck. The head fell and rolled away, the body  
collapsing onto its open chest.

Sliding to a stop, Ranma lifted the naginata and javelin threw it into the dead Chimera's neck. He flicked  
his arm, shaking off more droplets of blood and walked over to the stunned Naraa.

The many demons watching remained silent; the only sound that of heavy, shocked breathing.

Naraa eyed the dead Chimera, naginata jutting from its neck. "What was that for?"

"Just making sure."

"What the hell are you, Army?" Boraa muttered.

Ranma met the one horned demon's eyes, feeling the blood drip smoothly from his fingers. His grin was  
cocky, brash.

* * *

Next Time: **Chapter 6 - Choices And Their Consequences**  
Ranma and Sasami head back for Nerima, but not before Ranma makes a with a devil. A couple uneasy  
alliances are formed.

AN: Updated 5/9/11. Same as all the previous chapters, fixed grammar, added some stuff, cleaned up  
stuff. Made it better.

Old AN: Long . . . long chapter. I've had this written in my notebook for a bit, but I just hadn't gotten around  
to typing it out. Already working on Chapter 6. Hopefully shouldn't be as long, or take as long for me to finish.  
Leave a review telling me what you thought.

Tenchi Muyo was created by Masaki Kajishima.  
Magic Girl Rayearth is the property of Clamp  
Oh! My Goddess was created by Kosuke Fujishima  
Yu Yu Hakasho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi  
Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi  
Inu-Yasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi  
Bleach was created by Tite Kubo  
Love Hina was created by Ken Akamatsu

Oh, and as many have guessed: SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI III: NOCTURNE is what this story is based on. It's owned by Altus.

I obviously own none of these series, so this is my disclaimer for them.

(1) Ikebukuro: It's a part of Toshima ward, and is a large commercial and entertainment district of Tokyo, Japan.  
It's about 5 and half a mile, South East, from Nerima.

(2) Sunshine 60 Building: A 60-story building in east Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan, situated at the end of  
Sunshine City.

(3) In Christian demonology, most of their demons have a certain ranking. It follows as such:

Great King  
King  
Great Prince  
Prince  
Great Marquises  
Marquises  
Great Duke  
Duke  
Great Earl  
Earl  
Great President  
President  
Knights  
Great Marshals

There are over 100 of them. These demons weren't in the game, but I'm using them for myself for this story. Every other monster/god that's been discussed was in the video game.


	7. Chapter 6: Choices And Their Consequence

Ranma pulled his arm from Eligor's chest, with a slick and bloody plop. The flames around his arm had  
died out and it was covered with blood instead. It dripped from his fingers, pattering the floor.

"Impossible . . ." Eligor gargled and blood oozed from under his mask. "A stupid . . . human . . ." The  
naginata shook in his hand, his grip weakening. He dropped heavily to his knees.

Ranma flicked his hand at the downed Great Duke, sprinkling his helm with his own blood. "Yeah, just a  
stupid human." His arm pulsed in delight.

"I'm going . . . to kill . . ."

"No. You're not." He grabbed Eligor's naginata and tore it from his numb fingers. The weapon twirled in  
Ranma's hands and he stepped away, turned around, and rolled the shaft around his hips, and behind  
his back. The blade hit and easily sliced through Eligor's neck. The head fell and rolled away, the body  
collapsing onto its open chest.

Sliding to a stop, Ranma lifted the naginata and javelin threw it into the dead Chimera's neck. He flicked  
his arm, shaking off more droplets of blood and walked over to the stunned Naraa.

The many demons watching remained silent; the only sound that of heavy, shocked breathing.

Naraa eyed the dead Chimera, naginata jutting from its neck. "What was that for?"

"Just making sure."

"What the hell are you, Army?" Boraa muttered.

Ranma met the one horned demon's eyes, feeling the blood drip smoothly from his fingers. His grin was  
cocky, brash.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 2 or any other animes that might appear in said fic at this junction . . . in  
time . . . right now.

"I knew it was a mistake the moment I did it, but I only had the best thoughts in mind. I had to do it, for  
my friends . . . for Akane . . . for everyone. I sold my soul for a second time."  
- Ranma Saotome

"I knew from the first time I smelled him that he was trouble."  
- Inu-Yasha

Demon's Candelabrum  
A Ranma 1/2 Crossover  
By Hawk

AN: **IMPORTANT!** Before you read this Chapter, I am letting you know this: I have overhauled every  
chapter before this one, fixing all the grammar mistakes I found and adding some other things. There  
were many, so the previous chapters are a lot better (I hope) and easier to read. Sorry this took forever  
to get out. It's long though, so the wait was hopefully worth it to those of you who've been waiting hah

Lastly, thank you! Thank you to everyone that reviewed! And again, sorry for the long wait!

**Chapter 6 - Choices and Their Consequences**

* * *

Sasami listened to the silence, her heart having calmed. The 'courtroom' had quieted for the last few  
minutes. Boos and angry shouts erupted from down the hall and soon after, Ranma was led back into  
the room, Naraa and Boraa at his sides.

Every prisoner surged to the bars and Sasami squeezed through to the front. "Ranma-san!" She noticed  
his blood covered arm. "You're bleeding!" she exclaimed.

The blood dripping from his fingers had slowed. "It's not my blood."

Eyes widened at the statement. "What happened?" Sasami asked quietly.

"I'm gonna meet Lord Gozu-Tennoh and convince him to set you all free," he explained.

"Yes!"  
"Oh, thank God!"  
"Oh, man . . ."

Sasami frowned. "Are you alright, Ranma-san?" she asked.

Ranma stared at her a moment. He blinked and shook his head, clearing the cobwebs before grinning  
roguishly. Sasami blushed despite the gruesome mess on his arm.

"I'm great, Sasami." He turned and started to leave, Naraa and Boraa at his sides. Pausing, he looked  
back at the girl. "And stop calling me, Ranma-san."

Sasami's smile lit up the tiny cell; she was relieved that her new friend was okay. As she watched him  
march down another hallway until he disappeared from sight, her smile never faded.

* * *

Tenchi shoved another piece of dry bread into his mouth, trying to ignore the many eyes watching him.  
He swallowed and downed another gulp of water. He had washed most of Orthrus' blood off in the  
houses backyard koi pond. There were no koi. His tongue poked out and licked his lips before he exhaled  
heavily.

His spine cracked as he leaned backed in his chair. It was still sore and Tenchi considered the possibility  
of broken bones.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"You're welcome," a woman, who had introduced herself as Yuu Sumiyoki, replied.

Tenchi stood, gritting his teeth. "All right, I need to get going," he announced, covering his side  
protectively.

"Where're you going to go?" a younger man who hadn't introduced himself asked. "There's nothing out  
there!"

"I need to find," he paused to think, "my cousin. She was taken by two demons." His eyes scanned the  
people around him who had flinched at the word 'demons'. "Have any of you seen a young girl with blue  
hair? She has pink eyes."

Everyone shook their heads, frowning. Their sympathetic eyes told Tenchi exactly what they thought:  
Sasami was dead.

He glared at the floor, annoyed by their reaction, and picked up the Tenchi-ken. "Well, I'm going."

"Where? Where can you go? There's nothing out there."

"I'm going to find my cousin."

An older man in his fifties, graying beard, stepped forward. "Son, I'm sorry to tell you this but-"

"I'm GOING to find my cousin," Tenchi restated.

"So you're just going to leave us?" Yuu moved between the two.

Tenchi said nothing, only shouldered the backpack they had given him.

"What if something like that monster comes back? What happens if it's worse?" she continued.

"Maybe you didn't hear me before," Tenchi started. "My cousin was taken by DEMONS! She's already in  
'worse'!"

"She's already dead!" the younger man exclaimed.

Tenchi was in his face, grabbing his collar. Before he could react, he was thrown down hard, Tenchi  
glaring down at him.

"Stop"  
"Hey!"  
"Oh my God!"  
"Don't!"  
"What're you doing?"

"She's not dead," Tenchi growled. "So just shut up!"

"Just calm down!" the older man forcefully pulled Tenchi away.

Stumbling over his own feet, Tenchi grabbed onto a nearby stand to keep himself from tripping. He tore  
his arm free of the older man's grip. "Look, I thank you for taking care of me, but I'm leaving. You can  
stay here. Maybe I'll come back."

"Maybe you won't," Yuu stated.

"Maybe I won't."

"Maybe you'll die," she added.

"At least I'll be doing something other than huddling inside a house and hoping for the best," Tenchi  
retorted unkindly then turned, and walked out.

* * *

"You two all right?"

Miyuki stumbled forward, pointing her gun at him. "Who the hell are you?"

"You're welcome," Ryu Kumon replied blandly, but didn't lift his hands.

"It's okay, Miyuki-chan, he's a good guy!" Kasumi exclaimed brightly.

Ryu raised an eyebrow at the plaster covered girl. "Do I know you?"

"No, not really, but I've heard of you from my sister and her fiancée," Kasumi said, and then bowed her  
head. "I'm Kasumi Tendo. My sister is Aka-"

"-ne Tendoooh crap!" Ryu looked around nervously. "She isn't here, is she? That girl is violent!"

"Oh, Kumon-san, you're so silly!" Kasumi giggled, covering her mouth.

"So is it just you two?" Ryu scanned the wrecked showroom.

"Yup."

"Can you put down the gun?"

"Nope."

"Why not? I just saved you guys! Tendo-san trusts me!"

"You still haven't introduced yourself," Miyuki explained, fingering the trigger of her gun.

Ryu stared at her.

"Well?"

"I'm Ryu Kumon, who the hell are you?"

Miyuki stated her name and rank before lowering her gun to her waist.

"Is that all or do you want my birthday too? Maybe my blood type? Perhaps you'd like to frisk me?" Ryu  
stated. "I wouldn't mind that last one."

Miyuki shot him a glare.

'Better her eyes than her gun,' Ryu thought then looked at Kasumi, covered in plaster and dust, and  
reached into his backpack. He tossed a bottle of water to the girl. "Here, you can wash yourself off."

Kasumi smiled. "Thank you, Kumon-san!" She splashed her face and hair, washing out the plaster.

"Just call me Ryu."

"Okay, Ryu-san."

"So," Ryu started, rolling his eyes at Kasumi as Miyuki holstered her gun. "Good to see I'm not the only  
person alive, though I may still be the only man . . ." He gave the two girls a brief look, only to stop when  
Miyuki reached for her gun again.

"I was only kidding!" He waved his arms defensively.

"We were trying to hot wire a car before that monster came," Miyuki explained. Her hands went to  
work, brushing the dusty white plaster from her clothes, but kept an eye trained on Ryu.

"Good idea, though it better be a jeep or truck. It's not exactly flat streets out there anymore," Ryu  
suggested. "Just a couple blocks from here the world turns into a wasteland. A regular car wouldn't  
last."

"Good to know. Hopefully there's an undamaged jeep in all this mess," Miyuki replied, glancing around  
the showroom. The hood of an overhead car popped open and its engine dropped to the floor with a  
heavy thud.

"Hopefully."

* * *

Ranma, blood running down his arm, continued up the stairs. They were nearing the top, where Gozu-  
Tennoh was likely to be found. "You really should fix that elevator."

Boraa snorted. "We're demons, not mechanics."

"Fair enough."

They reached another hallway, higher and wider than the rest. At the end, standing before two giant  
steel doors, engraved with strange demonic marks, was Thor. The God of Thunder watched in silence as  
they approached.

"Lord Gozu-Tennoh grants you permission to enter, mortal," Thor grumbled. "Alone."

Naraa and Boraa released his arms and he walked the rest of the way down the hall. He stopped before  
the golden garbed God. "My name's Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes! You'd be  
smart to remember that."

Thor glared down at him. "I am Thor, Immortal God of Thunder. You would be smart to remember that."

"Immortal? I met someone who called himself that," Ranma said. "He proved rather killable when I was  
done with him."

Thor sneered as the doors behind him slammed open. "You are a lying human."

Ranma brushed past him and into Gozu-Tennoh's pitch black chamber. "His name was Saffron," he said  
a moment before the doors slammed shut.

The God of Thunder exhaled, shocked, staring at the closed doors.

* * *

Tenchi stopped and took a quick swig of water. He had left the people and not looked back. It was not  
an action he had ever done before and he felt selfish for leaving them like. His dad and grandfather  
would probably be disappointed in him for doing so.

A weary gazed turned to the red sky, avoiding the white sun's glare. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.  
"Where am I going . . .?" he muttered. "Where are you, Sasami? How the hell am I going to find you?"

Tenchi looked around at the surrounding desert, the small neighborhood he had left far in the distance.  
He bowed his head to think, eyes shut. "What would you tell me to do, Sasami?"

The white sun beat down upon him, pack heavy on his shoulders. Something was telling him to go back and  
he eyed the distant houses he had just abandoned.

Parched lips sighed and the tired teen took a swig of water. After swallowing, he started back.

* * *

As the doors shut behind, sending a shudder through his body. Torches, high on the walls, lit instantly,  
illuminating most of the room.

He stepped forward, scanning the room, but stopped when a giant, horrific statue appeared from the  
darkness. The statue was so wide it took up nearly half of the massive room. It was easily over twenty  
feet high and its menacing stone face remained perfectly still.

Ranma exhaled.

"I am Gozu-Tennoh, Demon-God of Disease and Plague, leader of the Mantra," a chilling, yet booming  
voice exclaimed. It sent shivers through every bone in Ranma's body. The Demon-God continued, "Your  
display of strength and skills during your Trials impressed me."

Ranma swallowed. "I figured it would," he replied, finding his voice.

"I do not let many, especially humans, in my presence."

"So is that the only reason you invited me up here, to take a look?" Ranma retorted and glanced around  
the great room, checking his surroundings.

"Upon clearing your Trials you became a member of my Mantra," Gozu-Tennoh continued, ignoring  
Ranma's words.

"And who's to say I don't just up and leave? What makes you think I wanna have any part of this wacko  
group of yours?" Ranma crossed his arms over his chest, lifting an eyebrow. He felt silly having a  
conversation with a statue.

"Because I can give you the things that you want and need, and I can make you stronger."

"Who says that's what I want?"

"Everything that exists in this world wishes to be stronger. Without strength, death is inevitable," Gozu-  
Tennoh intoned.

"All right . . . what if I want more than just strength?" Ranma stared up at Gozu-Tennoh's monstrous  
face.

"To have one such as you be part of my Mantra, I would offer many things," the booming voice replied  
and Ranma suddenly knew he was about to make a deal with the Devil.

"The humans you're holding for Trial, I want them set free. I want a place for lots of humans in your city,  
where they can live safely, away from the rest of the Mantra, where the demons in this city won't  
come."

A great chuckled reverberated throughout the room. "You want a lot of things, human. Why should I let  
weak humans go free, let alone live in my city?"

"Because if you do, then I'll agree . . . to join your Mantra and fight for you."

* * *

"Kasumi-chan? Kasumi? Kasumi!"

The brown haired girl blinked and looked at Miyuki who sat behind the wheel of the jeep. Ryu sat in the  
passenger side seat, arms crossed. He looked annoyed.

"Oh my! I'm sorry," Kasumi exclaimed. "I just . . . felt something . . . a chill run down my spine."

"Whatever, just get in the car!" Ryu barked, earning a glare from Miyuki.

Kasumi nodded numbly and headed for the car, but not before taking another glance down the opposite  
street.

* * *

"Do you think Ranma's all right?"

Nabiki looked up from her book. "It's only been a day, I'm sure he's just fine," she replied and turned a  
page.

"Well . . . I just got this bad feeling . . ." Akane muttered and scratched her thigh. "I think he just did  
something stupid."

"You would be the one to get that feeling."

* * *

Gozu-Tennoh laughed again. "I free my prisoners and allow other pathetic humans to come into my city  
to live in exchange for you joining my Mantra? I do not find that to be an even trade, human. I believe  
you need more from me than I from you."

"You said you'd offer me many things. Those are the things I want. You've only seen a fraction of what  
I'm capable of," Ranma countered.

The torches along the walls flickered and the giant statue said nothing. The room became deathly silent  
other than the crackle of the flames.

Ranma stood, waiting.

The great doors behind slammed open and Thor marched in, cape billowing. The massive God stepped  
up beside Ranma, who tensed. "You called for me, Lord Gozu-Tennoh?"

"Put forth the order that the human prisoners are not to be tried. Have demon Boraa search for a large  
place for them to live, away from the downtown area," the great statue replied.

Thor eyed Ranma, furious, knowing this was the human's doing, but nodded to the Demon-God. "At  
your command, Lord Gozu-Tennoh."

"As for you, Ranma, go and collect the rest of your humans. If you do not return in two days, I will have  
the ones still in my prisons executed."

"Thank you,"' Ranma replied. "Though I'd like one of the prisoners to go with me as I get the others."

"As a gesture of good will, you may take one human. The rest will remain in prison until your return.  
Demon Naraa will accompany you as well."

Ranma nodded and the torches along the walls died, blanketing the room in black.

Thor's armor shone in the dark. "Come . . . Ranma, we have much to do."

Ranma grinned.

* * *

When Ranma stepped up to the prison cell, everyone rushed forward to greet him. His confident  
expression relieved their heavy hearts.

"I've made a deal," he said and proceeded to explain the details to the imprisoned humans. After  
explaining the last part, about taking a prisoner with him, the captives erupted.

"So you're just going to leave us!"  
"Who're you taking with you?"  
"What if you don't come back?"  
"This is bullshit!"

"I'll come back. I wouldn't abandon you here like that," Ranma replied honestly.

"Then what do you call leaving us now?" someone shouted.

"I'm gettin' my friends back in Nerima. It should only take a couple days. Until then, just stay here and  
don't worry. I WILL come back. Trust me."

"Who're you taking with you then?"

"Sasami." Ranma looked at the girl.

The blue-haired girl blushed under the sudden scrutiny.

Naraa stepped up to the cell, opening it.

"Come on, Sasami," Ranma said and extended a hand.

Sasami took his hand, blushing as she did. She continued to blush as the young man lead her from the  
prison and the cell swung shut.

The two horned demon grunted. "Any time you're ready to leave, Ranma."

Nodding, the teen smiled at the group still behind bars. "We'll be back soon."

* * *

"You came back . . ." Yuu said softly.

Tenchi nodded. "Just a gut feeling that something's going to happen here and I should be here when it  
does."

"Good or bad?" another woman asked. The man he had argued with before continued to ignore him.

"Not sure." Tenchi sat down on the sidewalk, fingering the Tenchi-ken. "But I'm going to wait right here  
for it."

* * *

Ryu wiped the sweat from his brow, letting his head roll back. "It's hotter today," he grumbled.

Kasumi nodded, needing to say nothing else.

"Now if someone would let me turn on the A/C . . ."

Miyuki rolled her eyes. "It'll waste our gas," she explained as she turned right, onto another cracked  
street. It was jammed with empty cars, blocking their way.

They all sighed.

"We're getting nowhere!" Ryu slammed his fist into the door.

"Don't complain; we have a jeep at our disposal," Miyuku replied. "And try not to damage it."

"We've gone three blocks in the last thirty minutes! I could walk faster than this!"

Frowning, Miyuki put the car in reverse, turning to look out the back window. It was getting frustrating,  
driving around and going absolutely nowhere. Ryu's bitching wasn't helping.

"That wasn't very nice, Kumon-san," Kasumi said softly.

"Would you stop calling me that?" Ryu griped and exhaled heavily. "I'm melting in here. Aren't you guys  
hot at all?" He looked at the two, observing their cool demeanor.

"No."

"I love hot weather," Kasumi chimed, smiling warmly.

Ryu gaped at her. "You guys are nuts, and where the hell are we going anyway?"

"We're not going anywhere, Kumon-san."

"Well I can see that."

"Because we're searching for more survivors," Miyuki clarified.

Slumping in his seat, Ryu groaned. "I think I was better off by myself."

* * *

Ranma and Naraa raced across the sandy wasteland, halfway to Nerima, hours after leaving Ikebukuro.  
The white sun was slowly starting to turn red, as it had the night before. Sasami rode piggyback on  
Ranma, arms wrapped around his neck. Little had been said between the three and no random demons  
or monsters had tried to attack them.

Turning his head, Ranma stole a peek at Sasami and seeing that she was doing okay, he gave his  
attention to his demon companion. "So what the hell is the Provert?"

Naraa eyed him for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you accused me of bein' one of their spies, so I'm curious to know. Who are they? Why do you  
hate them?"

Beady eyes stared straight ahead. "They're a group much like the Mantra, yet at the same time the  
complete opposite. Whereas we believe in a world where the strong survive, they want to create a dirty  
world," the demon explained.

"A dirty world?" Ranma was confused by the notion.

"Like garbage?" Sasami chimed curiously.

"No, not like garbage. They want a world of filth, of perversion."

"A world of perversion . . ." Ranma muttered. "Sounds great," he bit out sarcastically.

"Yes, they are disgusting and thus we are at war with them." Naraa made a fist. "We're going to destroy  
them."

The demon grinned toothily at Ranma. "With you fighting on our side, I know we will."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I wish I'd known you guys were at WAR before I joined!" Ranma  
retorted.

"You weren't a member so you didn't need to know," Naraa coolly replied, shooting down Ranma's  
argument.

"Wonderful," Ranma grunted.

"Hey, what's that?" Sasami freed an arm and pointed into the distance.

Ranma and Naraa looked to where she pointed, seeing a lone figure running toward them.

"He's moving fast," Naraa stated calmly.

"Very fast," Ranma corrected, skidding to an immediate halt. "Take Sasami and hide behind that rock."

Naraa stopped and for the first time Ranma heard the demon whine. "Why can't she just hide for  
herself?"

"I don't want her alone. Just do it, Naraa," Ranma said as the figure neared and he took Sasami from his  
shoulders, setting her on the ground where she pouted in worry.

Grumbling, Naraa lead Sasami to the boulder.

"Naraa."

The demon stopped and looked back at the pigtailed teen, curious.

"If anythin' happens to her, I'll kill you."

Swallowing heavily, the demon nodded and ushered Sasami behind the rock. He remembered very  
clearly how Ranma had killed Eligor. If they were to fight, Naraa knew he wouldn't last a minute.

A rush of wind flung Ranma's pigtail about and he started forward to create a little distance between  
himself and the Sasami's hiding place. The figure was suddenly visible and Ranma found himself sighing.  
A demon with long white hair, dog ears, and wearing red hakama's and hitoe, was carrying an  
unconscious kid on his back.

The demonic lines on Ranma's arm pulsed at the possibility of a fight.

* * *

Hikaru Shidou looked at the city that had once been the Ikebukuro. The soul of the elderly woman had  
told her about this city, but she hadn't thought it would take so long to get there. She'd wasted a lot of  
time, an entire night, in her search.

She had wandered around the outside of the city, looking for a way in, which wasn't as easy as she  
thought it would have been. When she finally found an entrance, she eagerly pushed the doors open  
and entered the Ikebukuro.

* * *

Inu-Yasha slid to a sudden stop, kicking up dirt, and eyed the human standing across from him. His nose  
scrunched as he smelled the air; the scent of demon was there, but also human.

"Can I help you?" Inu-Yasha asked.

"Yeah . . . you can start by puttin' the kid down like a good doggy," Ranma replied.

Inu-Yasha sneered. "Screw you if you think I'm gonna hand him over to you!" The half-demon adjusted  
Souta, who was sleeping soundly on his back.

"Then I'll make you," Ranma retorted and cracked his knuckles.

Lifting Souta from his back, Inu-Yasha set the boy on the ground. He swatted the back of his head,  
waking him instantly.

"Hey!" Souta exclaimed, annoyed.

"Go wait over there," Inu-Yasha ordered, pointing off to the side.

"Wha-"

"Just go!" the half-demon snapped. "I'll get you when I'm finished here."

Souta glanced between the two before nodding and rushing off.

"Now then . . ." Inu-Yasha started, reaching for his Tessaiga. "What was that about 'making me'?"

* * *

"What should we do with her?"

"Put her in a cell, of course."

"Yeah, but, which one? The one with prisoners or an empty one?"

"Empty one. She's not one of the Army's prisoners."

The demon nodded, opening an empty cell and unceremoniously tossing Hikaru inside. "The damn bitch  
burned me when I first grabbed her."

"Really?" Boraa asked. "That's rather interesting . . ."

* * *

Belldandy pushed open the door to Megumi's apartment. "Hello?"

She had been unable to reach her Father while traveling to Megumi's place, and held little hope of  
finding Keiichi and Megumi. Keiichi's motorcycle wasn't there.

"Megumi-chan?" the Goddess whispered. The overwhelming presence of demons as she'd passed  
through the city had made her wary. With what she felt, a demon or monster could have attacked at any  
time for any direction. She easily recognized Amaterasu in the sky, but even the Sun Goddess wouldn't  
speak to her.

Belldandy felt very much alone and that didn't change, as she looked around Megumi's wrecked  
apartment. The building was close to collapsing, so she knew she didn't have much time to search, not  
wanting to risk being inside if it did.

She closed her eyes and her eyelids shuddered as she tried to stop the tears. This wasn't the place to  
cry, not in a building ready to fall. It couldn't be helped though, so when she dropped to her knees,  
hands covering her face, the tears fell unabashed.

* * *

Megumi Morisato glanced around the small group of people she was traveling with. After leaving her  
collapsing apartment, she had stumbled into the streets of ruin. The city was a mess, destruction  
everywhere and completely abandoned. She had searched for hours, looking for others but found none.  
When the sun had darkened, Megumi had pathetically, in her mind, cried herself to sleep in a stranger's  
apartment.

She awoke to loud noises outside and viewed from her window an enormous flying stingray. It floated  
casual over the street, occasionally flapping its sides like wings. When it did, everything beneath it,  
bikes, cars, lamps, were uprooted and overturned.

Fear had seized her and she hid from sight, hoping she wouldn't be seen. For a couple minutes more,  
the loud noises continued, and when they stopped, Megumi took a chance peek. The giant flying sea  
creature was gone, leaving devastation in its wake.

She waited a little longer before leaving, and ran off in the opposite direction. It was a couple minutes  
later when she met another survivor. Soon enough, the further she traveled the more people she found.  
Suddenly, they were a group of six, supplied with food and water, and moving out of the city, into the  
vast desert. Of the five, Megumi was truly worried about one in particular.

The teenage girl was seemingly brain dead. While she walked and followed the group when told, she  
otherwise showed no signs of intelligence. It was as if her brain had been washed clean by the Red  
Wave. The poor girl was a looker, but completely lost mentally.

And so they went, further into the desert, in the hopes of discovering something, anything, that would  
keep them safe. She especially continued to think of the giant stingray, and wanted nothing to do with  
it. Her thoughts were constantly on her family, her brother and Belldandy. If they were there, she would  
be okay, but they weren't. She was alone, with five strangers, in a world she knew nothing about.

Sighing, Megumi stared off into the distance, wondering when the desert would end. She blinked, brow  
creasing as her eyes narrowed. There was a long line of dust clouds trailing across the horizon, the sign  
of something big moving over the sand.

Being the great mechanic that she was, Megumi instantly figured out how fast it was traveling, and from  
the size of the clouds it produced, knew that it was a car. She ran over to an older man in the group,  
grabbing the pack he wore and tearing it open.

"Hey! What the hell?" The man stumbled back from her anxious tugging.

"I need the mirror! Where's the mirror, the mirror!" Megumi was frantic, searching for the small  
compact mirror they had taken earlier that day.

"Calm down!" a woman with graying hair exclaimed, shaking her head.

Megumi's fingers closed around what she was searching for. "Yes!" Pulling it out, she snapped it open  
and faced the direction of the dust clouds. With deft hands, she angled it back and forth, reflecting the  
sun's light off its reflective surface.

"Please work . . ." she mumbled.

* * *

Ranma slid backwards in the sand, skidding to a dusty halt. The demon's punch had been incredibly  
powerful, a little more than Ryouga's strongest. The strange dog-man demon had originally pulled out  
an old, rusty katana, but instead of using it, had sheathed it in confusion and annoyance. The two circled  
each other, sizing one another up before the dog demon had charged at a speed that rivaled his and  
knocked him back with a fierce punch.

'He may be stronger than Ryouga and as fast as me, but he has no skill at all,' Ranma thought. He  
cracked his neck in a show of bravado.

"All right, mutt, let's see how much of a beating you can take!" Ranma dashed at the demon, easily  
avoiding a sloppy punch and landed a swift uppercut to the dog demon's chin.

Inu-Yasha grunted and stumbled back before jumping away from his attacker. He rubbed his throbbing  
chin, annoyed. The scent of demon was in his attacker, but Tetsaiga had refused to work. Now the  
demon, teen, human, whatever he was, was revealing himself to be a very skilled fighter.

'This doesn't look good,' the half demon thought. 'Luckily he doesn't seem that strong.'

The two jumped at each other, Inu-Yasha throwing haymaker after haymaker at Ranma who ducked and  
weaved around them. He jumped back, barely avoiding a kick.

"Sankontessou! (1)" Inu-Yasha cried, slashing his claws at the demon scented teen. Faster than he could  
perceive, his hand was stopped. He fumbled in surprise, staring at the pulsing blue arm which had halted  
his own.

Ranma's left arm was beating as fast as his heart. His hand had moved on its own accord and was now  
gripping the dog demon's wrist tightly. Taking advantage of his opponent's surprise, Ranma slugged him  
in the stomach with a right.

Inu-Yasha grunted and bent forward, slamming his forehead into Ranma's face.

As he stumbled back a step, still holding the dog demon's wrist, Ranma kicked out, hitting the side of its  
knee.

Inu-Yasha fell forward, dropping to his knees but still managed to lash out and catch the teen's open  
side with his claws.

Wincing from the blow, Ranma pushed forward, ramming his knee into the demon's chin, bringing his  
attacker back to his feet.

As the blood dripped from his cut lip, Inu-Yasha kicked at the teen's legs, who easily stepped over the  
attack. Knowing his opponents attention was elsewhere, Inu-Yasha easily wrestled his wrist free from  
the blue marked hand. Faster than before, he brought his hand down, slashing the demon teen across  
his left arm.

Ranma fell back a couple steps, shielding his cut side and bleeding arm.

"You may look like a human, but your blood still reeks of demon."

"Look in a mirror lately, mutt?"

Inu-Yasha charged, tackling Ranma to the sandy ground where the two wrestled for control, both  
grappling fiercely with one another. The two grunted and cursed as they attempted to gain the upper  
hand, both trying desperately to pin the other.

Ranma tensed and pushed as he held back the half-demon's hands to prevent the sharp nails from  
getting too close. He kneed his attacker in the gut before blocking a retaliatory kick with his shin.

Shoving his legs into the ground as deep as he could, Ranma felt the rough texture of the sand and dirt  
as it poured into his pants, up to his knees. "Saotome School of Anything Goes: Sand Blast!" he cried,  
launching his legs upward, at the same time expelling the sand from his pants, into Inu-Yasha's chest.

Behind the force of the double kick and blast of sand, Inu-Yasha was sent flying, twisting wildly.  
Surrounded by a cloud of sand, he found himself unsure which direction the ground was until it was too  
late. His back slammed into the ground and he grunted painfully. Rolling to his side, he narrowly avoided  
the demon teen's next attack.

Ranma's knee smashed into the sand and he twirling away from the dog demon's swiping claws. He  
jumped to his feet, and his left arm dropped to his side, bleeding, and pulsing wildly. The dusty sand he  
had kicked up calmly settled around his feet. He spared a glance at his bloody arm. "You want me to use  
you again, huh? Yeah . . . all right, just like last time."

* * *

Miyuki pulled the jeep to a stop, kicking up dirt and sand, cutting off the engine as she did. With Ryu in  
the seat next to her, and Kasumi in back, the three stared out the front windshield. The two women  
were smiling, while Ryu's head dropped back in despair.

About a dozen yards away, a group of six strangers were running toward them, waving their arms  
excitedly. Ryu had noticed the flashing light in the distance, and Miyuki had recognized it as Morse code.  
Their drive had been sidetracked when Miyuki turned the jeep at such a speed that Ryu knew it should  
have flipped. Somehow it hadn't, and Ryu found himself impressed by the black haired cop's driving  
skills.

"Six people . . . we can't fix six more people in here." Ryu palmed his face in frustration. This was going  
to turn into a problem. He groaned loudly when Miyuki and Kasumi opened their doors to climb out.  
"What're you doing? Stay in the car, will you! We don't know what type of people these are!"

The girls blinked at him as he slipped out of the jeep. "Just stay in the car until I check them out, okay?"

"I am a cop, you know!" Miyuki snapped and flinched when Ryu slammed the door in response. She  
turned to look at Kasumi. "Would it be wrong of me to run him over?"

Kasumi was hesitant to answer such a strange question.

* * *

"Um . . . Hi, I'm Souta."

"I'm Sasami. Nice to meet you, Souta-kun." Sasami smiled kindly at the boy who had appeared out of  
seemingly nowhere. He looked nice enough and Sasami could tell instantly that he had a good heart.

"Um . . ." Souta fumbled. The girl was really pretty, even though she was older than him. "What're you  
doing out here?"

"Ranma-san's bringing us to Nerima," Sasami said and continued to smile, though her hands were wringing  
the front of her blouse.

"Us?"

"Yeah! Me, Ranma-san and Naraa-san," she explained, pointing at the demon that was currently by the  
side of the boulder they had hidden behind. He was avidly watching the fight. "Ranma's fighting a  
demon right now!"

"Inu-Yasha's fighting a demon right now too!" Souta punched a fist into his palm.

"Maybe they're fighting the same demon?" Sasami suggested and the wringing of her blouse lessened a  
little.

"Probably!" Souta exclaimed. "Let's go watch them win!"

Sasami nodded and they slowly snuck around the other side of the boulder, away from Naraa. As the  
fight came into view, Sasami and Souta pointed at their protector.

"There's Inu-Yasha!"  
"There's Ranma!"

They glanced at one another just as Inu-Yasha was knocked into the air by Ranma's Sand Blast.

"What?"  
"What?"

"They're fighting each other!" Souta shouted in distress.

"We have to stop them!" Sasami started running toward the fight without thinking.

"Wait, Sasami!"

* * *

"Oh, thank God you saw us!" Megumi ran forward and almost jumped on the young man that had exited  
the jeep. His suspicious glare halted her in her spot and she took that opportunity to look him over. An  
angry disposition, muscular arms, and camouflage pants. He appeared more like a bad guy than a hero.

Ryu's intense glare didn't lessen and his arms crossed his chest, moving in front of the jeep, as though to  
stand guard. He said nothing, but waited for the rest of the group to come closer. When they did, he  
looked over the six strangers.

The brown haired woman that had first approached was eyeing him apprehensively. She was a couple  
years older than him, but much shorter. Her eyes weren't like those of an idiot. This girl was smart and  
the realization of this made Ryu groan mentally.

There was an older man and woman, probably in their 50's, looking haggard from the travel. Two boys  
in their teens were hunched over, panting, large backpacks weighing them down. When they lifted their  
heads, Ryu noticed how similar they appeared, before realizing he was looking at twins. Hopefully they'd  
be useful.

The last person, rather girl, was stunning, and Ryu steeled his jaw in order to prevent it from falling  
open. Long caramel hair that hung down her back, clipped with hairpins, and bangs behind her large  
brown eyes. Her body was shaped by the Gods themselves, or so Ryu thought and it didn't hurt that she  
had a huge rack. Ryu noticed lastly that she had a blank expression on her face, as if she had no clue  
who or where she was.

The girl was damaged; something bad had happened to her.

"Um . . . so?"

Ryu turned to the brown haired girl. "So?"

"I'm Megumi Morisato," she said and bowed slightly. "Thank you for coming to us."

"Wasn't my decision," Ryu replied bitterly and pointed a thumb at Miyuki through the windshield. "I  
have no control over that crazy woman."

To prove his point, the jeep rolled forward, bumping him in the butt, and Miyuki stuck her head out the  
window. "I heard that, jerk!"

The serious air surrounding Ryu fell, replaced by annoyance. "Look . . . we got two empty seats in that  
car, and honestly, I'm not all that into the idea of taking any of you along for a ride. I'm quite  
comfortable with the way it is."

As an afterthought, he added, "Though I wouldn't mind replacing our driver." The jeep rammed into him  
harder this time, knocking him forward, and he turned to shake a fist.

Megumi watched the exchange and shook her head in disbelief. These were the people that had come  
to their rescue? "Can't you squeeze us in? If we can get to another town or find another car, I can get it  
started."

"You're good with cars?" Miyuki asked from the jeep, interest piqued.

"Very good." Megumi smiled at her, glad to see she had found a kindred mechanic soul.

Miyuki climbed out of the jeep, much to Ryu's annoyance, and stepped forward. "Then we should do  
that. Let's find another car!"

Ryu's lips pinched together tightly and he exhaled his frustration from his nose. "Again . . . we can't FIT  
everyone in the jeep!"

"Don't mind my stupid companion here, he doesn't know any better. I'm Officer Miyuki Kobayakawa,  
and this idiot is Ryu Kumon."

"Hey!"

"It's nice to meet you, Kobayakawa-san," Megumi said with a bow.

Rolling his eyes, Ryu moved between the two girls. "As nice as this is, we still can't fit them."

"Well, I have an idea about that." Miyuki's grin was malicious and Ryu hated the idea before she even  
said it.

* * *

He looked for Inu-Yasha and, finding him, clenched his left hand into a tight fist. As the demonic blue  
flames erupted around his arm, a frightening gust of wind exploded outward, pushing away the  
surrounding sand, creating a small crater around him. The cuts on his arm burned closed, fully healed,  
the blood caking and disintegrating into dust.

Cocking his arm back, which had now settled to a calmer blaze, Ranma rushed for Inu-Yasha.

Inu-Yasha shook his head, rattling the sand from his hair. He could hear Ranma charge, and at his side  
Tetsaiga pulsed, suddenly ready to be used. Looking up, into the shine of Ranma's blazing arm, he found  
himself overcome by the terrifying aura. He froze.

Faintly, he heard a voice shouting and his eyes found Souta, waving his arms, standing beside a blue  
haired girl who looked almost comatose on her feet.

His hand dropped and grasped the Tetsaiga, pulling it free. It changed into its greater form and he  
brought it up just in time to swing at Ranma, forcing the pigtailed demon teen to dodge to the side.  
Grunting, he swung it around in Ranma's new direction, screaming, "Wind Scar!"

The attack tore at Ranma as he skidded to a halt. Tensing, Ranma jumped as high as he could. As the  
tearing power of the Wing Scar passed beneath him, Ranma eyed it in disbelief. "What the hell kind of  
attack . . .?"

His arm pulsed and he spun around in midair, finding Inu-Yasha leaping at him, giant sword pulled  
backed. Twisting and flipping over, Ranma narrowly avoided the blade, watching as it passed right below  
him. He kicked out, hitting the half-demon in the face. As Inu-Yasha dropped to the ground hard, Ranma  
landed softly. His hands dropped to his side and filled with ki, even the flames covering his left arm  
pouring into it. The ball of blue ki beat with demonic energy, strengthening it greatly.

Inu-Yasha rolled back to his feet, Tetsaiga already held over head. He brought it down. "Wind Scar!"

Ranma threw his hands forward. "Moko Takabisha!"

The two attacks raced toward each other, sand and dust exploding outward in their wake.

"Ranma-san!"  
"Inu-Yasha!"

The two fighters glanced in the direction of the screams. The attacks collided, the resulting explosion  
blowing the fighters off their feet and back through the air. They rolled and stumbling violently across  
the wasteland ground. Ranma regained his footing first, but through the cloud of dust and sand he could  
see little. Arms waving to clear his view, Ranma called out, "Sasami!"

A large hand grabbed his shoulder and he spun around, coming face to face with Naraa. "Where the hell  
is Sasami!"

"The brat took off!" Naraa yelled back.

"You were supposed to watch her!"

"Souta!"

Ranma and Naraa turned at the sound of the voice.

"That was the hanyo's voice," Naraa stated seriously.

"Hanyo? A half-demon? Like what you were callin' me?" Ranma replied in surprise. The dust began to  
clear.

"You couldn't tell?" Naraa retorted, equally surprised.

"Ranma-kun!"  
"Inu-Yasha!"

"That way!" Ranma sped off, Naraa right behind.

When the dust settled, Ranma skidded to a stop, a few feet from Sasami and the new kid. Across from  
him was the hanyo, having halted as well. The two stared at one another, covered in dirt and cuts but  
neither caring.

Naraa approached behind Ranma and Inu-Yasha sneered.

"STOP!" Sasami shouted, moving in-between the two and raising her arms. The action was brave, if not  
stupid. Were Ranma and Inu-Yasha to start fighting again, she would surely be crushed.

The three fighters paused, Inu-Yasha eyeing Ranma and Naraa dangerously. Souta pulled on his sleeve.  
"Stop, Inu-Yasha! He's a good guy!"

The half-demon snorted. "He doesn't smell like one."

"Yeah, and you're so innocent lookin'," Ranma retorted.

"As is your friend," Inu-Yasha shot back, glaring at Naraa.

"Stop it!" Sasami cried, very upset. She turned to Inu-Yasha, "Ranma-san and Naraa-san are good!"

Souta looked at Ranma and Naraa. "And Inu-Yasha is a good guy too!"

Inu-Yasha looked doubtful. "If he's such a good guy, why'd he attack me?"

"You attacked me first!" Ranma stepped up, sneering.

"That's because you were trying to take Souta!" Inu-Yasha bared his fangs in return.

"That's because I thought you were gonna kill him!"

"Inu-Yasha's my friend!" Souta exclaimed.

Naraa cleared his throat loudly, catching everyone's attention. "I believe what we have here is a big  
misunderstanding."

"And what's your story then?" Inu-Yasha looked Naraa up and down. "You're all demon, what's your  
part in this?"

"He's helpin' me as I go and get my friends." Ranma moved to stand between Naraa and the hanyo.

"Ranma," Naraa said, catching the teen's attention. "We shouldn't continue to waste so much time if  
you plan to save those other humans. Time isn't on your side."

Sighing, Ranma nodded. "You're right." He glanced at Inu-Yasha and Souta. "We have to go."

"Good," Inu-Yasha grunted, crossing his arms and looking off to the side.

"Why don't you come with us," Sasami asked.

Inu-Yasha snorted. "And I'd want to do that, why?"

"Because I think we should," Souta declared.

"What?" Inu-Yasha snapped.

"You should join us," Naraa added. "You're very strong. Better to stick together."

"And I should listen to you?" Inu-Yasha growled.

"Ranma?" Sasami asked, peering up at him.

The teen rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat. "Yeah, yeah . . . you should come with us."

The ground beneath them cracked loudly and visibly. They all looked down just as it exploded, throwing  
the five in different directions.

"Sasami!"  
"Souta!"  
"Ranma!"  
"Inu-Yasha!"

Naraa pushed himself to his feet. "Glad someone cares about me."

Ranma and Inu-Yasha hopped to their feet. "What the hell was that?" the latter exclaimed.

As Inu-Yasha glanced around, Ranma was already running, charging the newly appeared rock demon as  
it towered over the two kids. "Don't you touch them!" he yelled as he pounced onto its giant back.

The demon spun, reaching for the offending teen.

Ranma managed one punch before the massive rock hand closed around his chest, yanking him off. He  
was unceremoniously tossed away as Inu-Yasha leapt past. Body twisting, Ranma landed, cat-like, on his  
hands and feet.

"Sankontessou!" Inu-Yasha's claws marked the chest and faceless head of the rock demon. The  
behemoth's hand swung at him, but he easily avoided it.

Ranma rushed by, jumped into the air, dodged an errant bolder sized fist, and slammed his own into the  
rock's head. He flipped over it with the momentum of his punch.

Inu-Yasha appeared behind the spinning Ranma, Tetsaiga raised high. Landing, Ranma stumbled over a  
crack as he reached for Sasami and Souta. He grabbed their outstretched hands as Naraa dove across,  
picking him up, Ranma pulling the kids with them.

"Wind Scar!"

The massive attack tore the rock demon and ground around it to pieces, narrowly hitting the others.

Ranma rolled to his feet, pissed. "Watch where you're swingin' that thing!"

Inu-Yasha landed softly, the Tetsaiga shrinking to a rust katana and he sheathed it calmly. "Keh, I knew  
you were out of the way. I wouldn't have used it if you weren't."

"Coulda fooled me!" Ranma furiously brushed the sand off his clothes, the symbols on his arm lighting  
up with his anger.

"How 'bout you shut up! I know what I'm doing!" Inu-Yasha snarled as he shook the sand from his  
hakama.

"Both of you shut up!" Naraa stormed between the two bickering teens. "No more fighting!"

"Keh!"  
"Whatever!"

The two crossed their arms over their chest, turning their backs to one another.

"We're going to get nowhere like this," Naraa muttered, reaching up to tug on his horns in frustration.  
He didn't have hair so this was the next best option.

"Inu-Yasha-san?"

The hanyo and Ranma blinked, turned to Sasami.

Looking up at the dog-demon, Sasami smiled. "You're ears are cute," she stated, much to Inu-Yasha's  
embarrassment. "You're coming with us, right?"

"Please, Inu-Yasha . . ." Souta's eyes were pleading, large and doe shaped.

Growling, Inu-Yasha eyed Ranma, who eyed him right back.

* * *

Tenchi stood slowly, eyes narrowing at the horizon, as a group of people appeared. They approached  
the isolated stretch of houses cautiously, and as they drew closer, Tenchi was able to count twelve of  
them.

"Looks like people," he stated and the woman beside him nodded. Raising a hand, he waved to them,  
and a number of them responded in kind.

Turning to Yuu, he tilted his head at the closest house. "Go wait inside with the others."

"Why?"

"We don't know what type of people they are. They could be trouble and I don't want you getting hurt if  
I have to fight."

Yuu nodded in understanding and rushed into the house, shutting the door behind her.

Tenchi moved to the middle of the street, tapping Tench-ken against his hip, waiting patiently. Once the  
group had entered the neighborhood, close enough for Tenchi to see their faces, Tenchi smiled. They  
looked like a decent crowd of people.

"Hey!" he shouted, raising a hand again.

Two people from the group stepped forward, apparently as representation. They looked very similar,  
probably from relation, though while the taller of the two had short brown hair, the shorter boy's hair  
was reddish brown.

"Hello," the taller and presumably older of them said.

"I'm Tenchi Masaki." He bowed his head respectfully in greeting.

The two young men bowed in returned before the brown haired teen stepped forward. "My name is  
Masaru Shidou, and this is my brother Kakeru." He indicated his red haired brother with a hand. "We've  
been walking through the desert since yesterday, with this group of people, looking for a place to rest.  
Do you think we could rest in some of these houses?"

Tenchi half frowned at them. "Well, I have to tell you, I'm not the only person here. There are others  
here, staying in most of the houses, but I'm sure they'd be happy to share, especially in times like this."

Masaru bowed again. It felt strange, being the mature brother for once. With Satoru gone, he had to  
take up the responsibility. The group had taken to him and Kakeru as their leaders due to their  
proficiency with the katana. He only hoped, wished that Hikaru was okay. They had searched all over,  
but hadn't found her. It had been demoralizing.

"Thank you very. We found an injured young man while walking, so we'd like to put him somewhere,"  
he said calmly, though his voice quivered. The thought of his lost family was still a burden.

"Of course, of course, yeah," Tenchi rushed, not wanting to delay if there was a person in need of care.  
He lifted a hand, waving it at the house, and saw the curtains fall aside. The door open and the people  
streamed outside.

The two groups began to instantly mingle, but Tenchi kept close to the Shidou brothers, recognizing  
from the way they walked that they had skill with a sword. That was a talent that would be useful in this  
world, as Tenchi had already proven. As they were the momentary leaders of their group, he wanted to  
spend the most time getting to know them.

From the crowd, three people separated, carrying a fourth. It was a teenage Chinese boy, with long  
black hair and thick glasses. He was unconscious in their arms, and Yuu was instantly at his side,  
checking his pulse. They quickly carried him into the house.

Turning back to Masaru, Tenchi put his hands on his hips, nodding in approval. "Looks like sticking  
around here was a good idea."

Kakeru glanced off to the side, into the vast desert. "Yeah, but . . . where is here exactly?"

* * *

"So where the hell are we going?" Inu-Yasha asked as he, Ranma, and Naraa ran across the sands, Souta  
riding on his back, Sasami on Ranma's.

Ranma's feet barely touched the ground as he ran beside the half-demon. "Nerima; my friends and  
classmates are waitin' for me."

Inu-Yasha narrowed his eyes at Ranma. "Are they as strong as you?"

Giving a short laugh, Ranma shook his head. "No, some are good fighters, but none as good as me."

Naraa struggled to keep up with the two speedy teens. "What about the demon in your arm?"

"What about it?"

"How'd a human get a cursed arm like that?" Inu-Yasha clarified.

"Yes, that's what I want to know. Why and when such a powerful demon bonded to you," Naraa said,  
panting lightly.

Slim arms tightened around Ranma's neck and he spared a glance at Sasami, her eyes sad. He gave her a  
small smile. "I don't know why or when, really. It was just there a couple days ago. I didn't ask for it or  
anythin', if that's what you're gettin' at."

Sasami's eyes brightened considerably, a happy smile stretching her lips as relief flooded her chest.

'Unless that dream was how it really happened . . ." Ranma thought. 'If wanting to live means I asked for  
this . . .' His arm pulsed at the idea.

"And what about that sword? It's quite frightening." Naraa was staring at Inu-Yasha's sheathed katana.

Sharp fangs were bared as Inu-Yasha smiled. "That's my Tetsaiga. It's used for killing demons," he  
explained, flashing Naraa a look.

"Can it do anythin' else besides that Wind Scar thing?" Ranma leapt over a chunk of concrete that stuck  
out of the sand.

"It can do a couple of things."

"That's good." Ranma landed lightly, sprinting once his feet touched the ground. "Between you and me,  
we should be able to beat anythin'."

Inu-Yasha grinned arrogantly. "Just don't in the way next time like an idiot."

"Yeah, well next time, don't go swingin' your sword around like an idiot and that shouldn't be a  
problem," Ranma retorted, glaring at the hanyo.

"How 'bout I swing it around right now and cut you in half!"

"I'd love to see you try!"

Sasami, Souta, and Naraa glanced at one another, sighing and rolling their eyes. Their thoughts were all  
the same: Those two were too damn egotistical.

* * *

"How's she doing, Dr. Tofu?"

"Much better, child," Cologne mumbled from where she lay, heavily bandaged.

"Only a couple minor fractures and a bump on the head," Dr. Tofu explained. "She won't be moving  
around on her own for a little while, but I expect her to be on her feet in no time."

"That's great to hear," Ukyou stated, smiling at the elder.

"What about Shan Pu?" Cologne's tired eyes looked from Akane to Ukyou, and she blinked heavily.

The two girls shook their heads, frowning. "Didn't find her."

"What about Mu Su? He was out on delivery."

"Haven't see him either," Akane replied, her frown deepening. It was like a kick to the stomach,  
watching Cologne as the old woman received the news about her closest family. There was no pleasure  
in any of this.

Sighing tiredly, Cologne turned her head to the side, looking away. "Okay then, thank you."

As she collected herself, Akane glanced around the library. The mood was sullen; the atmosphere heavy  
with gloom, and the room was silent, as though everyone was treating it like an actual library. Even the  
usually chipper Hina-chan-sensei was in a dower disposition.

"How long has Son-in-Law been gone now?"

Akane took a seat beside Cologne, slouching over and putting her hands behind her head. "Nearly two  
and a half days."

"This is all so surreal," Ukyou muttered, staring out the window. "It can't believe it's almost been three  
days. It feels like one giant dream."

"Or nightmare . . ." they heard Tofu whisper to himself.

Akane nodded, scratching at her thigh. "It's very . . . crazy . . ." She sat up and looked around the room again. "I  
think everyone else is still in a daze as well. What's happened still hasn't sunk in as real, that this isn't a  
dream, that we're really trapped here, that Nerima is destroyed and possibly the rest of Japan with it.  
Maybe even the world, for all we know. We've lost family, friends. Honestly, I don't want it to sink in  
anymore than it already has, and I think they," she gestured to her fellow classmates with a nod of her  
head, "are trying not to let it sink in at all."

Nabiki, who had approached during her sister's speech, raised an eyebrow. "When'd you start growing  
up?"

Akane gave her a dagger like glare.

"There's something outside!" one of the look-out teachers exclaimed, catching everyone's attention.  
"It's on the outer wall!"

"Two-headed monsters!" another teacher cried, and suddenly there was a mad rush to the windows.  
Students pushed and shoved, shouting wildly, hoping to catch a glance at the threat.

"What is it?"  
"Let me see!"  
"Is that it?"  
"Where! Where!"  
"I see it!"

Dr. Tofu squint his eyes as he peered through his glasses and the window. "It's waving . . ."

One of the shadowy forms raised an arm.

"It's Ranma!"

* * *

Next Time: **Chapter 7 – Uncomfortable Living**  
As the survivors continue to gather in groups, they're forced to deal with the risks and tribulations that  
come with their new living conditions.

AN: Had this on the backburner for awhile, and since I was updating and fixing all the previous chapters,  
thought I'd go ahead and get this done. Groups are starting to come together. Hope you enjoyed!  
Review and let me know what you think!

Tenchi Muyo was created by Masaki Kajishima.  
Magic Girl Rayearth is the property of Clamp  
Oh! My Goddess and You're Under Arrest were created by Kosuke Fujishima  
Yu Yu Hakasho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi  
Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi  
Inu-Yasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi  
Bleach was created by Tite Kubo  
Love Hina was created by Ken Akamatsu

Oh, and as many have guessed: SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI III: NOCTURNE is what this story is based on. It's  
owned by Altus.

I obviously own none of these series, so this is my disclaimer for them.

(1)Sankontessou – Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer


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